fo @
THE CHURCH HISTOBIANS
OF ENGLAND.
THE CHUECH HISTORIANS
OF ENGLAND.
VOL. IV.— PART I.
CONTAINING
THE CHRONICLES OF JOHN AND EICHAED
OF HEXHAM.
THE CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD.
THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE.
DOCUMENTS RESPECTING CANTERBURY
AND WINCHESTER.
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL TEXTS,
WITH PREFACES AND NOTES,
BY THE REV. JOSEPH STEVENSON, M.A.
OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, DURHAM :
VICAR OP LEIGHTON BUZZARD.
FLEET STREET AND HANOVER STREET,
MDCCCLVI.
•747
/£,/
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREF.T HILL, LONDON.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN, PRIOR OP HEXHAM, FROM A.D. 1130 TO A.D. 1154 1
THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN, AND THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD, BY
RICHARD, PRIOR OF HEXHAM, FROM A.D. 1135 TO A.D. 1139 .... 33
THE CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD, FROM A.D. 1 TO A.D. 1163 59
THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE, FROM A.D. 731 TO A.D. 1275 77
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND
THE SCOTS, A.D. 1173, 1174 243
DOCUMENTS RESPECTING THE ARCHBISHOPRIC OF CANTERBURY, FROM A.D. 598
TO A.D. 1503 289
DOCUMENTS RESPECTING THE BISHOPRIC OF WINCHESTER, FROM A. D. 596 TO
A.D. 1531 . . 345
PREFACE TO THE HEXHAM HISTORIANS.
§ 1 . Two priors of the Augustinian priory of St. Andrew's, of
Hexham, in the county of Northumberland, have written continua
tions of the chronicle of Simeon of Durham. Translations of
these are embodied in the present volume.
§ 2. "The History of the Church of Hexham, by John the
prior," embraces a period of twenty-five years, namely, from A.D.
1130 to 1154, both inclusive. We have no distinct indication as
to the exact period at which it was written ; but there appears to
be reason for concluding that it was penned shortly after the death
of king Stephen, and, consequently, that the events which it records
are the impressions of a contemporary author As might naturally
be expected, the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the north of
England claim a prominent part in these pages. The earlier
portion is inferior in historical interest to the latter, and exhibits
frequent traces of compilation from existing sources, constantly
blended, however, with original notices of events, connected chiefly
with the dioceses of York, Durham, and Carlisle, in all of
which the monastery of Hexham had endowments. From the
year 1139 the work increases in value, and from that point its
narrative may be accepted as an independent authority. Its chro
nology, however, towards the end, is confused and faulty ; but
whether this arises from want of precision on the part of the
copyist, or the author, is not clear.
§ 3. Only one manuscript copy of this work is known, which
is preserved in the library of archbishop Parker, at Corpus Christi
College, in Cambridge, No. cxxxix. From this source it was
printed by Twysden in his Decem Scriptores (col. 257 — 282), the
text of which edition, the only one which has yet appeared, forms
the basis of our translation.
§ 4. Of greater value is the " History of the Acts of king
Stephen, and the Battle of the Standard," by Richard,1 prior of
Hexham. It extends from A. D. 1 135 to 1139, both inclusive ; and
is occupied chiefly with an account of the irruptions of the Scots,
under king David, into the northern districts of England, of which
it gives some painful details. Its Hexham origin is frequently
perceptible (pp. 43, 44, 52), and the information which it affords
is valuable, as the contemporaneous narrative of a well-informed
historian.
§ 5. One only manuscript copy of this chronicle remains, that,
namely, in the library of Corpus College, to which reference has
already been made, and to which we are indebted for so many
1 As Richard did not attain to the dignity of prior of Hexham until A.D. 1143
(p. 20), this work may have been written while he was yet a simple monk.
Vlil PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD.
important documents connected with the north of England.
Twysden's edition is the only copy of the Latin text, and from
that source it has here been translated.
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD.
§ 1. Simeon of Durham, and his Hexham continuators, present
us with a history of the ecclesiastical affairs of the northern
districts of the kingdom, as seen from an English point of view ;
but the two following chronicles, the productions of Scottish authors
— who may be presumed to have written under the influence of
prejudices and feelings not always in unison with those of their
southern neighbours — have a claim upon our attention.
§ 2. " The Chronicle of Holyrood," near Edinburgh, (an eccle
siastical establishment belonging to the Canons Regular of St.
Augustine,) extends from the birth of our Saviour to the year
1 163, at which point it ends abruptly and imperfectly. It consists
of two parts, easily distinguishable from each other ; the earlier
portion, as far as the year 731, is to be referred chiefly to the
historical writings of the venerable Beda.1 No entries occur
from 734 to 1065. The second portion of this chronicle, how
ever, from 1065 until its conclusion in 1163, is very valuable,
affording us important information upon the ecclesiastical history of
northern England, and the Lothians of Scotland.
§ 3. The only existing manuscript of this chronicle is preserved
in the library of Lambeth Palace, in which collection it is numbered
440. It is a small quarto, written upon vellum, in a hand of the
twelfth century, which has transcribed the entire chronicle, but
which, by degrees, becomes a little larger, and more careless
towards the end. On the second leaf, and in a hand of the
thirteenth century, is this inscription : " Liber Sanctee Mariae de
S. Servano,2 ex dono Willelmi filii Dunecani, personse ipsius
ecclesiee."
§ 4. In 1691, Henry Wharton published this chronicle, under
the title of the " Chronicon Sanctse Crucis," in his Anglia Sacra
(i. 152 — 162), with the omission, however, of the passages anterior
to A.D. 596. A second and more complete edition has recently
been printed by Robert Pitcairn, Esq., for private circulation among
the members of the Bannatyne club of Edinburgh. The present
translation is from Wharton's text, completed and corrected by a
collation with the original manuscript.
1 Thus, in A.D. 729, he copies Beda's remark, that "the commencement and
progress of the reign of Ceolwulf was marked by such an abundance of hostile
proceedings, that it is impossible as yet to affirm what shall be their issue.'1 In
the following passages the author's information is only partly from Beda, perhaps
through some intermediate chronicle. See the year A.U. c. 752, A.D. 30, 538, 540,
547, 565, 605.
2 There was a parish of St. Serf in Perthshire, within the diocese of Dunkeld,
which possibly may be the locality here designated. See " An alphabetical table
of all the parishes in Scotland/' printed with Keith's Scottish Bishops, p. 360,
ed. 1824.
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. IX
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
§ 1. Amongst the scanty documents illustrative of the early
history of Scotland which have reached us, a distinguished rank is
to be assigned to the chronicle of Melrose. The chronicle of
Holyrood, which alone can compete with it in antiquity, is inferior
in detail as well as in extent ; and its age gives it an undisputed
advantage over the writings of Fordun, Wyntoun, Barbour, and
Bower. The era, as well as the locality, of its composition places
it above the chronicles of Hemingford, Gray, and that of the
monks of Lanercost, how valuable soever these annals may be in
the illustration of the later periods of our history. It is to the
pages of this chronicle alone that we must advert for the general
history of Scotland during several reigns, as narrated by Scotchmen ;
and, excepting the brief notices of the chronicle of Holyrood, we
have no other contemporaneous annalist until we arrive at Barbour
and Fordun, both of whom wrote about a century after the abrupt
termination of the chronicle of Melrose.
§ 2. The present translation is founded upon the authority of
the Cottonian manuscript, Faustina, B. ix. It was once a question
of extreme importance whether that manuscript be an unique
copy, or whether the text which it supplies might not be cor
rected or augmented by other manuscripts of equal value. It may
now be affirmed, without hesitation, that no other early copy
exists. There is none in the British Museum, nor is any
indicated in the extensive Catalogus Manuscriptorum Angliae et
Hiberniae, nor in the more recent lists of the libraries at Lambeth,
Stow, or Durham, or in the general catalogues of manuscripts
compiled by Montfaucon and Haenel. And yet, on the other
hand, the writers at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of
the eighteenth century, would induce us to suppose that manu
scripts existed in Scotland which exhibited considerable and im
portant variations from the text published by Gale and Fell from
the Cottonian copy. It is asserted by Sir George Mackenzie,1 that
" certainly that English manuscript is very unfaithful, for most of
the things relating to our nation are omitted, as particularly about
the beginning, in the year 844. Our manuscript observes (which
the English has not), that Alpin king of the Scots died, to whom
succeeded his son Kenneth, who beat the Picts, and was declared
first king of all Scotland, to the water of Tine ; and after it
expresses in his epitaph,
Primus in Albania fertur regnasse Kenedhus,
Filius Alpini, proelia multa gerens.2
And it observes that he was called the first king of Albany, not
because he was the first who made the Scottish laws, but because
1 Defence of the Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland, p. 24, edit. 1685.
2 Sir James Dalrymple, who cites the same lines, refers for them to a manu
script at Edinburgh. Collections, p. 90.
X PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
he was the first king of all Scotland." In a subsequent page of
the same work, he says, " I reflect not on the publishers of the
manuscript of the abbacy of Melros, printed at Oxford, for I
honour every thing that comes from that learned society in a
special manner; but it is no reflection on them to say that we have
another much fuller in what makes for Scotland, although it could
not be so exact as the other monasteries, since it was ofttimes of
old under the Saxons, who would certainly lessen what relates to
us. And thus the fault lay in the copy, and not in the publishers;
for the author of that manuscript calls Bede our countryman, so
he must have been then our enemy ; but, however, it begins not
with Alpin, as the Doctor alleges, though I mention that because
he is not mentioned in the Oxford edition. It declares that it is
to continue where the reverend Bede left, and so it is a proof of
our nation and history for that time, and the differences of that
shall be printed/'1
§ 3. Sir James Dalrymple tells us that he will not be at the
pains to compare the O'xford edition with the manuscript copies to
be found in Scotland or England, but that he will content himself
with the printed one.2
§ 4. Nicolson, in his Scottish Historical Library, had done
much to perpetuate this belief, and has in other respects obscured
the subject by the unguarded, erroneous, and contradictory manner
in which he speaks of our Chronicle. The authority, which is
generally attached to his work, somewhat undeservedly, renders it
necessary to examine his statements, without reverting to those
advanced by Mackenzie and Dalrymple, which he incorporates with
his own. He agrees with the former of these writers that Gale's
text is imperfect; and after quoting the following sentence — " Rex
Malcolmus Scotorum, veniens ad regem Anglise Henricum apud
Cestriam, devenit homo suus, eo modo quo avus suus fuerat homo
veteris regis Henrici, salvis omnibus dignitatibus suis" — he adds,
" Nor is this matter taken notice of in the Oxford edition, but only
in the manuscript copy which they have in Scotland." Strange to
say, these very words are to be found in the Oxford edition.3 Yet
one of his subsequent observations seems intended to prove that
the Scottish copies are less copious than the decried English edition,
for he tells us that all " these manuscript copies in Scotland4 end
with the words ' Obiit Adam de Kilcontath \l. Kilconcath] comes
de Karryc in Actonia [/. Acconia], cujus uxorem [Diuam nomine5]
1 Mackenzie's Defence, p. 96. 2 Collections, p. 205.
3 P. 169.
4 Two copies are mentioned in the first volume of the catalogue of the Advo
cate's Library ; and Haenel, col. 785, indicates one as in the collection of the
University of Glasgow. This last the Editor had an opportunity of examining ;
it is a small quarto, marked F. vii. 23, formerly belonging to Sir James Balfour,
by whom it was transcribed from the original. It ends in the same manner as
those mentioned by Nicolson, after which follows the colophon of the transcriber,
as given in the text. As it was in the possession of the University in the year
1700, it is not improbable that Nicolson made his memoranda from this copy,
when on a visit to his " worthy friend, Mr. Robert Wudrow, library -keeper at
Glasgow."
3 The words here enclosed within brackets do not exist in the Cottonian
manuscript.
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. XI
comitissam de Karryc, postea junior Robertas de Bruys accepit in
sponsam ; ' " which demonstrates that they contain about two pages
less than is given by the Oxford edition. He then adds the colo
phon appended to these transcripts, which states that " Hsec est
vera copia antiques Cronicse de Melros in Scotia, inchoata per
abbatem de Dundranan, ab anno 735, continuata per varios ad
annum 1270. Autographum extat in Bibliotheca Do. Roberti
Cotton, militis, apud Westmonasterium." He attempts to obscure
this clear statement by observing, " Now, though this is said to be
a transcript of that in Cotton's Library, yet he that compares it
with the extracts1 made thence by Mr. Tyrrel, will find them very
different ; " and no wonder, since these extracts made by Tyrrel
consist only, as has been noted below, of the verses printed at
pp. 223-9 of this edition. From this tissue of error, confusion,
and contradiction, it is impossible to avoid arriving at the convic
tion that the celebrated author of the Scottish Historical Library
has written his notice of this important chronicle without giving
himself the trouble of examining the stability of the arguments
upon which rest his theories and assertions.
§ 5. The latest author, as far as the editor is aware, who makes
this statement is Spottiswood, who reiterates the assertion that
"the Oxford edition published in the year 1684, does not agree
with our manuscripts,"2 but he supports it by no quotations or
other proofs, and in this statement he seems blindly to have followed
earlier authorities.
§ 6. It is, therefore, clear that the Cottonian manuscript is the
only ancient copy of whose existence we have any proof ; and it is
equally clear that the " Scottish MSS." are mere abridged and
recent transcripts from this original.
§ 7. The Oxford edition, although not meriting the character
which we have seen has been bestowed upon it, is yet by no means
satisfactory. Without intending to derogate from the respect due
to the learned editor under whose name the XV. Scriptores pass,
it must be owned that this chronicle is there printed in a faulty
and imperfect manner. It is an unnecessary, and would be an
ungracious task, to specify these defects ; and the apology is of a
very dubious character when the conjecture is hazarded that
Fulman, the editor of the edition of 1684, followed, as his sole
authority, a transcript now preserved at Oxford,3 and that he ap
pears to have had no opportunity of collating this transcript with
1 " Vide Rer. Anglic. Script. Vett. torn. 1. Oxon. 1684, p. 595, &c.," which indi
cates the page containing the Chronicon Elegiacum.
2 Religious Houses, p. 417, edit. 1824.
3 In the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, is a manuscript, No. 208,
which contains " Chronica de Mailros, qui codex ex bibliotheca Cottonensi fuit
transcriptus, anno 1651, ut ex transcriptoris chirographo apparet." The same
volume contains the Annals of Burton, and the continuation of Ingulphus, " quibus
usus est M. Fulman in sua Scriptorum Historise Anglicanao voluminis primi
editione Oxoniensi, anno 1684." — See Catal. MSS. Angliee et Hibernise, ii. 54.
This transcript was probably one of those made by Earbury for the intended
continuation to the Decem Scriptores ; see the Preface to that volume, p. 8 ;
several, or all of which, having come into Bishop Fell's possession, were intro
duced into the Quiiidecim Scriptores.— See Hall's Trivet, praef. (p. ii.) note 1.
Xll PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
the original. That this transcript has not undergone a careful
revision appears almost certain, for in more than one instance
where the copyist had committed an obvious blunder, Fulman,
observing the fault, has proposed as a conjectural emendation the
very words which stand in the Cottonian original.
§ 8. The author, or rather the authors, of this chronicle can
not now be ascertained. It has hitherto been customary to ascribe
its commencement to an abbot of Dundrenan in Galloway, but this
is one of the errors into which the faulty transcript perpetuated by
the edition of 1684 has led all subsequent writers.1 The true
reading of the memorandum upon which it is founded is as
follows : — " Memorandum, quod abbas de Dundraynand mutuavit
cronica de Melrose, in quibus fuerunt xiiij. quaterni, folio vxx et
xix."2 At a subsequent period the abbot procured the loan of the
remaining portion, " Abbas de Dundrainan mutuo accepit reliquam
partem cronicorum istorum." 3 In the first of these quotations
the word mutuavit has been mistaken for inchoavit, and hence the
origin of that claim upon our gratitude hitherto exercised by the
abbot of Dundrenan. In this, as in other investigations of a
similar nature, it is much easier to produce negative than positive
testimony ; and having removed the abbot of Dundrenan from his
eminence, the Editor must confess that he is unable to place any
other claimant in his stead. Since, however, the dispersion of
error is a step, and that not an unimportant one, towards the at
tainment of truth, a few sentences may be devoted in examining
the accuracy of the statements hitherto promulgated as to the
authorship, antiquity, etc., of this chronicle, before venturing to
make any observations upon these important subjects.
§ 9. Nicolson, Dalrymple, and others, state that it is partly the
production of English writers, partly of Scotchmen. The first
portion, which they ascribe to an English author, extends, say
they, to about the period " when the little convent of Dundrai-
nand was founded ; " 4 in confirmation of which they add that
Beda is styled " decus et gloria gentis nostrce." It might be
urged, with great reason, that the writer of that introduction,
considering Beda, as he afterwards styles him, " doctor non solum
Anglorum verum etiam universae ecclesiae," might, without
any breach of national feeling, use the words " gentis nostra ;"
seeing that the great luminary of the Saxon church, whom he
so much admires, and whose labours it was the object of his
present employment to continue, was born, spent a long life, and
died, within less than a hundred miles of Melrose. But it may
rather be remarked, that to adduce such an expression as proof of
the English authorship of this part of the chronicle, betrays a for-
getfulness of the relative position and circumstances of the two
countries when these words were penned. Prior to the bloody
wars commenced by Edward the First, and the feelings of enmity
1 Gale's Preface, p. 2; Nicolson's Engl. Hist. Libr. p. 62, edit. 1714; Scottish
Hist. Libr. p 80, edit. 1702 ; Spottiswood, p. 117; Dalrymple' a Collections, p. 205.
2 Fol. 10, b. 3 Fol. 45, b.
* Nicol. Engl. Libr. p. 63. s Dalrymple, p. 205.
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. Xlll
which, originating in them, continued to inflame the two nations
with mutual hatred to a period comparatively recent, the sovereigns
of Northern and Southern Britain were, in general, upon terms of
intimacy, if not of friendship ; l and however much the expression
commented upon, when viewed under the influence of modern
prejudices, might seem a proof of an English origin, it would not at
first convey any such idea.
§ 10. That the English authorship of this early part of the history
may appear the more obvious, Nicolson2 argues that the monas
tery of Melrose itself seems to have been in the hands of the
English, from the fact that Waltheof, brother of Henry, earl of
Northumberland, and of Simon, earl of Northampton, in whom he
recognises only the scion of a southern family, was made abbot of
Melrose ; forgetting that his mother, the countess Matilda,3
became the wife of David, prince of Cumberland, who afterwards
ascended the throne of Scotland.
§11. The same writer says,* that " in the year 1 157, the abbot of
Dundrainan, or some of his countrymen, was most probably the
scribe ; this being the account which he gives of the Scotch king's
homage : Rex Malcolmus Scotorum veniens ad regem Anglise
Henricum apud Cestriam devenit homo suus, eo modo quo avus
suus fuerat homo veteris regis Henrici, salvis omnibus dignita-
tibus suis." Unfortunately, however, for this theory, the passage
has been transcribed verbatim from Hoveden.5 He further states
that this is not noticed in the Oxford edition, " but only in the
manuscript copy which they have in Scotland," whereas the passage
is in the Oxford edition.6
§ 12. That the present chronicle is the production of a series
of writers who were inmates of Melrose, appears from a variety of
passages scattered throughout the following pages, references to
a few of which are given in the note below,7 for the purpose of
removing the doubt which has recently been expressed, whether
the present compilation be indeed the chronicle of Melrose. The
diversities of writing which the manuscript presents, will evince
that we cannot ascribe its compilation to any individual author ;
but that a century, at least, must have elapsed between the time
when the prologue was written, and that which saw recorded the
exploits of prince Edward in the Holy Land.
§ 13. This chronicle naturally resolves into two distinct por
tions, that, namely, which is a composition from preexisting
authorities, and that which may be considered as an original com
position. In the earlier portion there occur various passages
which have been translated from the Saxon Chronicle, but
whether directly from that venerable authority, or through the
medium of some other source of information common in the
1 How entirely national feeling was lost in religious partizanship may be seen ill
the passages contained, pp. 135, 156, 168.
2 Scottish Hist. Libr. p. 80. 3 Dugdale's Baronage, i. 56.
4 Scottish Hist. Libr. p. 80. 5 Ib. f. 281, b. Lond. edit. 6 Page 168.
7 See the various passages which occur in the years 1159, 1179, (cf. Forclun,
479, 1240.) 1261. See also under the years 1132, 1135, 1171, 1175, 1184, 1189,
1192, 1200, 1202, 1215, 1216, 1232, 1234, 1235, 1236, 1238, 1239, 1241, 1242, etc.
XIV PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
annals ascribed to Simeon of Durham, Hoveden, and our annalist,
is by no means clear. There are not wanting arguments which
might be adduced to prove that an independent version has been
made,1 some illustrations of which are given in the note below ;
but in a question of such obscurity, it is not easy to arrive at a
satisfactory conclusion.
§ 14. It is obvious that very much of the earlier portion of these
annals is to be referred to Simeon of Durham ; 2 a comparison of
the two, at almost any point, will afford abundant illustrations.
Hoveden, too, whose history is, for the most part, a repetition of
the prior labours of Simeon of Durham, and Henry of Huntingdon,
appears to have furnished some of the peculiarities where a
departure from the text of Simeon is observable. Even during
this early period, there are introduced passages which must be
considered original.3 From about the year 1140 to the end, the
information of the chronicle may be considered as original, and
the numerous and progressive variations in the handwriting show
that it is very frequently, if not always, contemporaneous.
§ 15. The chronicle of Melrose became, in its turn, the source
from which other chronicles obtained portions of their information.
Fordun has followed it in passages without number ; of which a
very few are indicated in the note below ;4 and cites it as " quaedam
1 A.D. 782. The notice of the council of Acle is placed by Florence in 781 ; by
Richard of Hexham in 788 ; Simeon and Hoveden omit the year ;
the Chron. Melr. agrees with the Saxon.
794. The last sentence in this year adheres closely to the Saxon ; Simeon,
as usual, is much more diffuse in his narrative ; Hoveden differs
from both.
797. The sentence concerning pope Leo is a close version of the Saxon ;
Simeon's narrative, placed under the year 799, is considerably
amplified ; Florence gives the sense, but in different words, and
further removed from the diction of the original; Hoveden omits
it entirely.
800. The sentence " rex Karolus," etc., is taken, almost verbatim, from
a Latin notice in the Laud manuscript of the Saxon Chronicle,
a version which the compiler seems to have followed ; it is am
plified and clothed in very different language by Simeon ; Hoveden
omits it.
833. This year is omitted by Simeon ; Florence has it, but in an abridged
form ; Hoveden nearly agrees with the Chron. Melr., but is less
correct and close in translating from the Saxon.
851. The notice of the Danish invasion is probably a direct extract from
the Saxon Chronicle, although Florence's narrative approaches
nearly to the same source ; Simeon and Hoveden give it differently.
866. The use of the word " degenerem," in our chronicle, is worthy of
notice ; Florence, and, from him, Simeon, here style Ella simply
" tyrannum," but in the Saxon text he is described as " ungecyndne
cyning," an epithet of which " degenerem " is a translation.
It would not be difficult to extend the number of instances equally conclusive.
2 The copy of Simeon, which was used in the compilation of the present
chronicle, seems to have contained the additions of John, prior of Hexham ; com
pare the two authorities under the year 1131.
3 For instance, the notes of the origin and progress of the Tyronensian Order
under the years 1109, 1113, 1115, 1118, etc.
4 Compare the following passages : —
Chron. Mel. A.D. 1172, with Fordun, vol. i. p. 463, line 6.
„ 1174, „ p. 471, line 10.
„ 1174, „ p. 474, line 39.
1176, „ p. 475, line 5.
It would be easy to multiply instances, but they are too obvious to require notice.
PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. XV
antiqua chronica,"1 " antiquum scriptum,"2 or " vetusta chronica."3
Since, however, the earlier portion of our chronicle be but a com
pilation from other historians, it may be asked if Fordun did not
derive these notices from the same common sources from which
they were introduced into the chronicle of Melrose ; but such
was not the case, as will appear by a comparison of those passages
which have undergone abridgement or alteration in being tran
scribed from the English original.4
§ 16. Wyntoun cites some information from " cornyklys awld,"5
a reference which, as the learned Macpherson observes, " is
apparently the chronicle of Melrose/'6
§ 17. The chronicle of Lanercost contains many sentences
transcribed from that of Melrose ; and a comparison of the
two leads to the conclusion that the copy was made by the
English monks from the manuscript now preserved in the Cottonian
Library." 7
§ 18. The Chronicon Rythmicum, which has been entered into
the chronicle of Melrose by a hand of the early part of the
fourteenth century, must be considered an interpolation, and has
been dealt with as such in the present edition.8 But the contents
of fol. 53 of the manuscript, containing a few memoranda, have
been inserted in their respective places in the text.
§ 19- When, or by what means, the manuscript now in the
British Museum came into the hands of Sir Robert Cotton, cannot
be ascertained. The editor is inclined to think, that by some
accident it was carried off from Melrose at a period, if not anterior
to, at least immediately after, the Reformation. Had it been
preserved there when viscount Haddington had a grant of the
Abbey-lands, it is probable that he would have preserved it along
with the splendid collection of charters which came into his
possession upon that occasion, or that some extracts from it
would have been found in his " Collections of Charters, Evidents,
1 Vol. i. p. 499, line 13 ; cf. Chron. Mel. A.D. 1199.
2 Vol. i. p. 535, line 34 ; cf. Chron. Mel. A.D. 1183.
3 Vol. i. p. 265, line 6 ; cf. Chron. Mel. A.D. 1070.
4 For instance, Fordun, vol. i. p. 270, line 2, when speaking of the prisoners
whom William the Conqueror requested to be freed, mentions " Vulnotum regis
Haroldi germanum, quern a pueritia in custodia," obviously omitting a verb neces
sary for the completion of the sense. The same words are in the chronicle of
Melrose, p. 59, line 4 ; but the original authority, Hoveden, supplies the necessary
verb, " tenuerat," fol. 2t>4, line 23.
5 Vol. i. p. 146. e vol. ii. p. 464.
7 The chronicle of Lanercost details the ravages committed in Cumberland by
Alexander the Second, in the same words as those emploved by the monk of
Melrose ; but in turning the folio of his original he has accidentally omitted a
word, reading- •" non magistri sed ministri malitise," instead of—" non magistri
militise, sed ministri malitise," p. 123 ; thus failing to preserve a monastic playing
upon words too much in accordance with the taste of the period to be intention
ally omitted. It occurs again at p. 246.
P. 223. Macpherson, in a note in his copy of the chronicle of Melrose,
and in his edition of AVyntoun, vol. ii. p. 471, considers that this metrical chronicle
as _ the production of Ailred of Rievaux. Pinkerton, in his Enquiry into the
History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 334, has printed various readings and additions
from the Bodleian MS. c. iv. 3, which he says is of the thirteenth century ; but
unless art. 17 of the catalogue be added by a later hand, we must conclude that
the writing is posterior to 1356.
XVI PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
and Antiquities/' now in the Advocates' Library.1 The extracts in
the Cottonian volume, Otho, D. iv., formerly belonging to lord
Burleigh, are written in a hand considerably prior to the year
1600, and were made from the original manuscript now in the
same noble library. A few excerpts, relative to Simon de Mont-
fort, are amongst Stowe's Collections in the Harleian Library ; 2 and
from some memoranda kept by Sir Robert Cotton, it appears that
in 1623 he lent the " manuscript chronicle of Melros " to Selden,
who was the first to cite it in print.3 As already has been noticed,
it was transcribed, under his directions, for the intended second
volume of the English historians ; and it is to be regretted that
this work did not appear, for Selden and Twysden conducted their
labours with more care than seems to have been bestowed by
Fulman upon his edition.
§ 20. From what has been advanced, the editor believes that
the following conclusions have been established :—
First, That the Cottonian manuscript, Faustina, B. ix., is the
only ancient copy/ and that all others are transcripts from
this one original.
Second, That the first portion, namely, from the commencement
to about the year 1 140, is a compilation from existing
histories, and, consequently, is to be used with caution.
Third, That the second portion, namely, from about the year
1140 to the termination of the volume, is possessed of the
highest credibility, being the testimony of individuals5 who
lived seldom later than half a century from the occurrence
of the events which they record.
§21. Two editions of the chronicle of Melrose have been given
to the public. The first is that to which reference has already so
1 See Robertson's Index, p. xlvi. 2 Harl. MS. 247, 37.
3 See the Preface to the Decem Scriptores, pp. vi. xvi. xviii. xix.
4 It is worthy of remark that the Cottonian Library possesses another manu
script which originated in the Scriptorium of Melrose. The volume marked Julius,
B. xiii. contains, besides other matter, a short chronicle, extending from the birth
of our Saviour to the year 249. The strongly marked character of the hand
writing, exhibiting itself in the systematic adherence to peculiarities in the use
and formation of certain letters and symbols, proves, beyond a doubt, that the
scribe was the same as he who commenced the chronicle of Melrose. Had not
that worthy monk prefaced his labours by an introduction showing the pre
determined and satisfactory principle which led him to commence his annals with
the year 735, the perfect similarity between the two Cottonian manuscripts in
the size of the vellum, the number of lines in each page, the arrangement of the
text, and other coincidences, might almost lead to the belief that both these
manuscripts were originally destined to form but one volume.
The following extracts are given as a specimen of the early chronology —
A.D.] xxx°nii. Judei sub Pontio Pilato prseside Christum cruci affigerunt, qui et
resurgens a mortuis die tertia victor ascendit celos, die suse ascensionis
mittens in discipulos Spiritum paraclitum die pentecostes. Apostoli,
prsedicaturi verbum Domini per lude'e regiones, Jacobum fratrem Domini
leroBolimis ordinant, et viitem diaconos.
xxx°v. beatissimus Christi prothomartir Stephanus a ludeis lapidatur, et
ecclesia per regiones lud^se et Samaria? despergitur.
xxx°vi. Saulus, qui et Paulus, iter faciens et appropinquans Damasco,
persecutionem exercens in Christianos, subito lumine coelesti territus et
cecatus, statim uas electionis a Domino eligitur et toto corde ad Do-
minum convertitur. — fol. 41, b.
5 An instance occurs A.D. 1222 (pp. 174, 175,) in which the same account, the
death of an abbot of Dundreunan, is entered twice, but in different words.
PREFACE TO JORDAN FANTOSME. XV11
frequently been made, as forming a part of the Collection of
English Historians, usually known by the name of the editors,
Gafe and Fell, published at Oxford 'in 1684.1 For all critical
purposes that edition is, at the present time, valueless. A second
edition was printed in 1835,2 by the editor of the present
Collection of Historians, for the use of the members of the Banna-
tyne club of Edinburgh ; but as it was not published for sale, it
is not easily procured. It is founded upon a careful collection of
the Cottonian manuscript, and from this source the present trans
lation has been made.
PREFACE TO JORDAN FANTOSME.
§ 1. A translation of the curious metrical "Chronicle of
Jordan Fantosme" next claims the reader's notice. It gives a
detailed account of the war carried on by William the Lion, king
of Scotland, against Henry the second, king of England, which
terminated in the capture of the former, near Alnwick, in North
umberland.
§ 2. The author, Jordan Fantosme,3 who frequently "mentions
himself in the course of his poem (see lines 521, 668, 674, 903,
and 1152), was undoubtedly well acquainted with many of the
circumstances which he has recorded. Thus (at lines 445 — 449)
he states that he was an eye-witness of the atrocities perpetrated
at Wark by the Scottish invaders.4 At line 1731, he speaks of his
information " of his own knowledge." He was undoubtedly
present at the capture of the Scottish king, for in his minute
description of that event he takes care to say (line 1774) : " I do
not relate a fable, as one who has heard say, but as one who was
there, and I myself saw it. And again we have his statement,
" with my two eyes I saw it/' (line 1810.) In contrast with this,
he tells us that his account of the siege and capture of Norwich
was not derived from personal observation (line 896) ; and, on
another occasion, he thus addresses his readers (line 1910), "As far
as I know, now hear the truth."
§ 3. In the midst, however, of this minute personal acquaint
ance with his subject, we are struck by observing that he commits
the singular geographical blunder of supposing that the town of
Berwick stands upon the river Tyne (lines 428, 1186), a mistake
which would seem to imply that he was not a native of, and had
not been long a resident in these districts.
§ 4. The external information which we possess respecting a
Jordan Fantosme(doubtless the author of the present poem) helps us
to a solution of a portion of this difficulty. We learn from some
1 Pp. 135—244.
2 " Chronica de Mailros, e codice unico in Bibliotheca Cottoniana servato, nunc
iterum in lucem edita."— 4 Edinb. 1835.
3 In the Lincoln MS. the spelling is Fantome (lines 521 and 668).
* See also lines 1159, 1173.
VOI , IV.
XV111 PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLES.
proceedings in a lawsuit, respecting lands in Hampshire, that in
A.D. 1160, "magister Jordanus Fantasma" was in the service of
Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, and brother of king Stephen ;
and it further appears, from a letter addressed to pope Adrian by
John of Salisbury,1 that he was engaged in a dispute with a clerk
named John Joichel, who, without the permission of Fantasma,
had opened a school at Winchester. Hence we can understand
how a foreigner, probably a Norman by birth, and a resident of
Winchester, should be at fault in his nomenclature of the localities
of Northumberland.
§ 35. Two manuscripts of this poem are known to be extant,
one in the library of the dean and chapter of Durham, the other in
that of the dean and chapter of Lincoln. Both these copies are of
the thirteenth century, and they agree very closely together, each
scribe affording us the means of correcting the errors and supplying
the omissions of the other. To the late Henry Petrie, Esq., is due
the merit of having been the first to discover these copies ; but the
first (and only) edition of the text was given to the world through
the instrumentality of the Surtees Society, by F. Michel.2 This
edition is accompanied by a translation, which, by the kind per
mission of the council of the Surtees Society, has been adopted as
the basis of this edition. In several instances, however, the Editor
has ventured to depart from the rendering of M. Michel. The text
follows the Durham copy, but the variations of that of Lincoln
have been noticed, whenever they affect the meaning of the
author.
PREFACE TO SHORT CHRONICLES OF CANTERBURY
AND WINCHESTER.
§ 1. Next follow several documents, which, from their nature,
require no very minute description.
" The Catalogue of the Archbishops of Canterbury," from
A.D. 598 to 1314, is transcribed from the MS. Register of Henry
de Estrey, prior of Christ's Church. Canterbury, — who was elected
A.D. 1285, and died A.D. 1328, (MS. Cott. Galba, E. iv. fol. l,b,)—
a volume of the fourteenth century. The translation is made from
Wharton's text, (Anglia Sacra, i. 83,) and a few collations have been
given from two other lists of a similar character, also quoted by
Wharton, the Cottonian MSS., Julius, D. ii. fol. 1, of the thirteenth
century, and Vitellius, E. xvii. fol. 225, which extends from A. D.
599 to 1294, and is of the fourteenth century.
§ 2. " The Succession of the Archbishops of Canterbury," which
follows, is printed by Wharton (Anglia Sacra, i. 85) from the
annals of Rochester, contained in the Cottonian MS., Nero, A. viii.
1 Ep. xix. Opp. i. 21, ed. Giles, Oxon. 1848.
2 "Chronicle of the War between the English and the Scots, in 1173 and 1174.
By Jordan Fantosme, Spiritual Chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester. Now
first published, with a Translation, an Introduction, Notes, and an Appendix, by
Francisque Michel." Svo. Lond. 1840.
OF CANTERBURY AND WINCHESTER. XIX
fol. 1, extending from the introduction of Christianity to the year
1160, shortly after which date this manuscript was written.
§ 3. " The Dates of the Decease of the Archbishops of Canter
bury," from St. Augustine to Henry Deane (who died A.D, 1503),
is derived from the same collection, (Anglia Sacra, i. 52,) where it
is printed from a MS. in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth,
written shortly after the year 1517, and continued to 1538.
§ 4. " The History of the Archbishops of Canterbury, by Ralph
de Diceto, from the first foundation of the see toA.D. 1200,"
but continued by another hand to A.D. 1240, is printed by Wharton,
(Anglia Sacra, ii. 677,) from the Arundel MS. 220, a manuscript
in the writing of the fourteenth century. The author was promoted
to the deanery of London in the year 1181, and held the office in
1199;1 but the exact date of his death is uncertain. Appended to
this follows, "A notice by Ralph de Diceto of the succession of the
archbishops of Canterbury, and of the popes from whom they
received their palls," extending from St. Augustine to Hubert
Walter, who filled the see from 1193 to 1205. Wharton prints
this catalogue (Anglia Sacra, i. 87) from two manuscripts in
Lambeth Library.
A similar list, to the time of Anselm, follows. It is translated
from the Cottonian MS. Tiberius, A. vi., fol. 37, b, where it is
written in a hand contemporary with its latest entry. The original
Latin has not been printed.
§ 5. "A List of the Succession of the Archbishops of Canter
bury, by a Canon of Lichfield," from St. Augustine to Simon
Mepham, A.D. 1333, is printed by Wharton in the same collection
(Anglia Sacra, i. 89), from a MS. then in his own possession.
§ 6. " The Annals of the Church of Winchester, from A.D. 633
to 1277," are derived from the Cottonian MS., Domit., A. xiii., and
are here translated from two several editions, the former contained
in the Monasticon Anglicanum of Dugdale and Dodsworth (i. 31),
the other given by Wharton in the work to which reference has
so frequently been made already (i. 288). Both these texts consist
of selections from the Annals, of such portions only as appeared to
their editors to contain the most important matter. The work
frequently exhibits indications of being the remarks of a series
of contemporary writers. The chronology is confused ; the year
sometimes being reckoned from the first of January, and some
times from the twenty-fifth of March.
" The Names of the Bishops of Winchester 3t are transcribed
from the Cottonian manuscript, Vesp., A. xvi., fol. 13, b, written
about the beginning of the fourteenth century.
" The Succession of the Bishops of the Church of Winchester"
is derived from two manuscripts, one in the Cottonian manuscript,
Titus, C. xii. fol. 194, written in the sixteenth century, and the
other in the Harleian collection, 1761, fol. 76, a manuscript of
the fifteenth century. The additional matter supplied by the latter
is appended in notes.
1 Le Neve, ii. 307, 308. Bale and Pits state that he was alive in 1210.
XX PREFACE TO THE CHRONICLES, ETC.
A short "Chronicle of Winchester" concludes the volume.
It extends from the introduction of Christianity into England to
the year 1140, at which point the greater portion of it was written.
It is here translated from the Cottonian manuscript, Nero, C. vii.
fol. 218, b.
JOSEPH STEVENSON.
With the exception of the historical poem of Jordan Fantosme,
none of the documents contained in this volume have hitherto
appeared in English.
VICARAGE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD,
January, 1856.
THE HISTOEY OF THE CHURCH OF
HEXHAM, BY JOHN THE PRIOR.
VOL. IV.
THE HISTORY OP THE CHURCH OF
HEXIIAM, BY JOHN THE PRIOR.
HERE BEGINS THE HISTORY OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, BY JOHN,
THE PRIOR OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM.
A.D. 1130. ASCHETIL, the first prior of the church of Hexham,
died on the fifteenth of the kalends of April [18th March]. By the
courteous polish of his manners and by his probity, he had ac
quired the goodwill of both clergy and laity. Moreover he abun
dantly furnished that place, which by hostile ravages had been
reduced to a desert, with costly buildings, his canons with needful
supplies, and the convent with becoming appointments. In his
place archbishop Turstin, in the same year, appointed as treasurer
of the same place Robert Biseth, who was elected by the brethren ;
he was an educated man, and one who had been well trained.
A.D. 1131. King Henry nominated to the bishopric of Hereford
Robert,1 prior of Lantony. Pursuing the regular discipline in the
canonical profession, he had already made that house a model to
other establishments by the institutes of its rule. In his bishopric
he also watched with the earnestness of a bishop's anxiety over
episcopal affairs, and thus deservedly acquired in the kingdom a
singular authority and respect of his sacred office.
A.D. 1132. Walter Espec,2 a man great and powerful in the
sight of the king and of the whole kingdom, received some monks
of the Cistercian order, sent by Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, and
placed them in the wilderness of Blackoumore, near the river Rye,
from which their monastery is called Rievaulx.3 With them was
sent William as their first abbot, a man of exalted virtue, and
of memory illustrious with all posterity. Emulating their lofty
purpose of an unwonted mode of life, Richard, prior of the convent
of St. Mary at York, and the elders of the same place, (not without
the factious opposition of their abbot Galfrid and the monastery,)
set out on the sixth of the kalends of January [27th Dec.], in the
same year, and founded the monastery of Fountains4 near Ripon ;
archbishop Turstin granting them a property. Over this presided,
1 Robert de Betun, consecrated on Sunday, the 28th of June. His Life is con
tained in Wharton's Anglia Sacra.
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 590. 3 Dugd. Monast. i. 727, and 733.
4 A long and interesting account of this migration may be seen in Dugd.
Monast. i. 735.
B 2
4 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1133—
as first abbot, the aforesaid prior Richard, a man of much ex
perience in ecclesiastical affairs.
A.D. 1133. In the month of August, before the Assumption of
St. Mary, [15th Aug.,] there were consecrated at York, by arch
bishop Turstin, Geoffrey, king Henry's chancellor, to the bishopric
of Durham ; Aldulf, prior of Nostell, to the city of Carlisle, which
king Henry had formed into an episcopal see, assigning to it the
churches of Cumberland and Westmoreland, which adjoined the
archdeaconry of York. Also king Henry, at the same time, gave
the bishopric of Ely to Nigel, nephew of Roger, bishop of Salisbury.
On the third of the nones of the same month of August [3d Aug.],
an eclipse * of the sun took place for nearly the space of half-an-hour,
on the twenty-seventh day of the moon, the fourth of the week
[Wednesday], when king Henry was passing over to Normandy,
where also he died.
•• On2 the eighth of the ides of October [8th Oct.], a comet was
visible for about seven days. The greatest part of the city of
London was destroyed by fire, on the Wednesday in Whitsun-
week [17th May], in the thirty-third year of the reign of Henry
king of the English [A. D. 1133]. On the very day of the anniver
sary of the death of this Henry's brother and predecessor William,
named Rufus, and of Henry's accession to the throne, being the
fourth of the nones of August [2d Aug.], there occurred a spectacle
of this sort. When the aforesaid king Henry was staying on
the coast, with the intention of crossing over, and the wind was
frequently favourable for the passage; at length, about noon on the
day aforesaid, the king had gone to the sea to cross, attended
in royal manner by his escort of soldiers, there suddenly appeared
in the air a cloud, which however was not seen to the same extent
through all England ; for in some places the day seemed rather
dark, but in others the obscurity was such that under its cover men
needed the light of a candle to transact business. The king, in
consequence, and the royal company who were going about, and
very many others, in astonishment raising their eyes to the sky,
saw the sun shining like a new moon, which yet did not long
remain in the same mood ; for it sometimes seemed broader,
sometimes thinner; at one time curved, at another straight; now
steady as usual, now in motion, stirring and liquid like quicksilver.
Some assert that an eclipse of the sun took place ; if this be true,
the sun was then in the head of the dragon and the moon in
the tail; or the sun in the tail and the moon in the head, in
the fifth sign — that is, Leo — in the seventeenth degree of that sign.
The moon was then twenty- seven days old. Likewise, on the
same day, when the ships ready for the passage of the said king were
firmly at anchor at the shore, the sea being very calm, and the
wind continuing moderate, the great anchors of one ship were torn
from their moorings as by some sudden violence, and the ship, to
1 See William of Malmesb. Hist, of his own Times, § 8.
2 In Twysden's edition, the following passage relative to the year 1133 is erro
neously blended with 1138. It has been considered expedient to assign each
portion to the period of time to which it actually belongs.
A.D. 1136.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 5
the astonishment of many who strove, but were not able, to hold
it, being put in motion, moved also the vessel next it, and so
the eight vessels were stirred by an unknown power, and none
of them remained uninjured. Many also said, that on the same day
and about the same hour, they saw many churches in the province
of York bedewed as it were with a great sweat. All these things
took place, as has been said, on Wednesday, the fourth of the nones
of August [2d Aug.]. On the sixth day of the same week, namely,
the first of the nones [4th Aug.] of the same month, early in the
morning, there was a great earthquake in many parts of England.
There were also some who said, that on the Monday of the following
week, namely, the sixth1 of the ides of the same month, when the
moon was three days old, they saw her at first, as is usual, at that
age ; but in a short period in the evening of the same day they saw
her large, in the shape of a round and very glittering shield. Many
also said, that on that night they saw two moons, the one distant about
a spear's length from the other. King Henry .crossed the sea from
England into Normandy, from which he did not return home alive.
A.D. 1134. Robert duke of Normandy died, whom king Henry,
his brother, had kept in custody to the day of his death.
A.D. 1135. In the sixty-ninth year after the coming of the Nor
mans to England, king Henry, in the sixty-eighth year of his age,
after eating some lampreys, sickened and died at St. Denis, in a cer
tain forest of Normandy called Leuns, on Monday, being the fourth
of the nones of December [2d Dec.]. He reigned gloriously for
thirty-five years and four months. His body (as he had directed) was
brought to England and buried at Reading ; which monastery he
had himself founded, and furnished it with a convent of monks,
endowed with a royal munificence of revenues. He founded, also,
another monastery — namely, Cirencester — four years before his
death, and provided the regular canons, whom he there established,
with abundance of all things requisite. Since him has arisen another
prince, who prohibited unjust taxations of the kingdom, ruled his
subjects in peace and moderation of wisdom, reverently esteemed
ecclesiastical persons, and maintained the poor and religious with
sumptuous alms. At his death forthwith arose wicked men and
sinners, who cast aside all the rules of justice and peace, and
violently committed plunderings and slaughters, burnings and other
enormities.
A.D. 1136. Stephen, earl of Bologne, king Henry's sister's son,
brother of Theobald earl of Blois, and of Henry bishop of Winches
ter, assumed the diadem of the kingdom on the kalends2 of January
[1st Jan.], William, archbishop of Canterbury, and the whole of
the clergy and laity of London, consenting to his promotion. In the
ceremony of his consecration, the giving of the kiss of peace was
omitted. Spurning his authority, Geoffrey, earl of Anjou (who had
married Henry's daughter, and by her had an heir named Henry),
began to create much disturbance in Normandy. David also, king
1 There is some error here, for the Monday of the following week [7th Aug.]
was the seventh (not the sixth, as stated above) of the ides of August.
Stephen was crowned the 26th of December, 1135.
6 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1136.
of Scotland, the uncle of the same empress, not unmindful of the
oath which he and the whole of the kingdom had sworn to king
Henry with regard to his succession, immediately invaded the
kingdom of England, and very soon gained the fortresses of Cum
berland and Northumberland, and overran the adjacent districts
as far as Durham, with the exception of Bamborough. He received
also allegiance and security from the more noble, to the effect that
they would preserve fealty to his niece. King Stephen met him at
the beginning of Lent,1 on the nones of February [5th Feb.], at
Durham, where he resided for fifteen days. King David also betook
himself to Newcastle ; and a conference being held between them
respecting an arrangement, Henry son of the king of Scotland did
homage to king Stephen at York. Whereupon Doncaster and
Carlisle were given him as an addition to the honour of Hunting
don.2 King David restored the other fortresses and lands which he
held. At the feast of Easter [22d March], king Stephen, in proof
of the regard which he felt for the same Henry, made him sit
at his right hand ; wherefore William, archbishop of Canterbury,
and some nobles, together with Ralph, earl of Chester, spoke dis
respectfully of the young man, and withdrew themselves from the
king's court. King David, when his son returned, would not send
him back to king Stephen. Moreover the Welsh, ravaging the
frontiers of England, killed two barons, Richard Fitz- Roger and
Pain Fitz- John ; nevertheless, they very soon made peace with king
Stephen. Also Ralph, earl of Chester, making an incursion into the
territories of the Welsh, being surprised by them with five soldiers,
barely escaped with life, all the others being put to the sword. King
Stephen also besieged the rebel Baldwin de Redvers in his town of
Exeter, compelled him to a surrender, and banished him from the
kingdom. In the same year, pope Innocent, by letters sent from
the apostolic see, confirmed the same king Stephen in the occupa
tion of the kingdom. The king, as directed by the purport of these
letters, having convoked a general council, ordered good and
ancient laws and right customs to be observed, and injustices to be
abolished. There were present at this council, William, archbishop
of Canterbury ; Hugh, archbishop of Rouen ; Henry, bishop of
Winchester ; Roger, bishop of Salisbury ; Alexander, bishop of
Lincoln; Nigel, bishop of Ely; Everard, bishop of Norwich;
Simon, bishop of Worcester ; Bernard, bishop of St. David's ;
Audoen, bishop of Evreux ; Richard, bishop of Avranches ; Robert,
bishop of Hereford ; John, bishop of Rochester ; and Aldulf, bishop
of Carlisle. In the month of August king Stephen crossed the sea,
taking alarm at the hostilities of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou. In the
month of November3 of the same year, William, archbishop of
Canterbury, died, and was buried in his city.
A.D. 1137. David, king of Scotland, threatened to devastate
Northumberland. A multitude of the earls and nobles of England
speedily assembled at Newcastle to oppose his designs. Also
Turstin, archbishop of York, although greatly debilitated by old age,
1 In A.D. 1136, Ash-Wednesday fell on Feb. 4th.
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 58. 3 He died the 26th of November.
A.D.1138.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 7
conferred with the king of Scotland and his son at Roxburgh, and
obtained a truce until the return of king Stephen from Normandy.
Hereupon king Stephen, having made an agreement for two years
with Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, returned to England at the Advent
of our Lord [28th Nov.]. The ambassadors of the king of Scotland
came, demanding that Northumberland should be given to his son
Henry, which king Stephen refusing, the truce was broken off.
A.D. 1138. That renowned abbey of St. Mary at Bechland l was
founded and built before the Nativity of our Lord, by the noble
man Roger de Mowbray, who endowed it with farms, and estates,
and great pastures and woods. On the fourth of the ides of
January [10th Jan.], William, son of Duncan, nephew of king
David, making an inroad before dawn, boldly poured the part of the
army which he commanded around the town of Wark, and at
tempted to storm and carry it. King David coming with a larger
train with catapults and many engines of war, besieged the town in
great force for three weeks; but Jordan de Bussey,2 the nephew of
Walter Espec, the commander of the garrison, by the unyielding
courage of the minds of his men, set at nought and rendered useless
all the king's endeavours; for they slew the king's standard-bearer,
and every day many others. King David, therefore, appointing some
to press the siege, sent on William, the son of Duncan, with the Scots
into Northumberland ; who, coming on the day of the Conversion
of St. Paul [25th Jan.] to the village of Warden, which is in the
neighbourhood of Hexham, they encamped there with his forces.
A certain Scot, a powerful and wealthy man in his native land,
having advanced from the troops with his own men, apparently with
the intention of marching along the river Tyne to the church
of Hexham, in the expectation of plunder, the young men of
Hexham sallied out upon them ; and having put his companions to
flight, after a fierce resistance, bore him down and pierced him
through the body. Fierce anger was stirred up, in consequence,
throughout the whole army of the Scots ; who, on account of his
slaughter, were hastening to rush upon the church of Hexham, and
utterly destroy it, with its inhabitants. But William, the son of
Duncan, anxious for the preservation of the place, recalled them.
King David followed with his son and his troops, and stopping
at Corbridge until after the Purification of St. Mary [2d Feb.], did
not fail to throw the affairs of the province into confusion. Out
of respect, however, to the dignity and antiquity of the church of
Hexham, he kept peace with it and all who had taken refuge at it ;
sending thither five Scots, lest any one should venture to invade it
with a hostile intention. It would be incredible were we to nar
rate the wicked, infamous, and blasphemous doings of that army of
Scots against God, and their abuses of humanity itself ; slaughters,
plunders, and conflagrations everywhere prevailed. These bar
barians had no mercy on the infant or the orphan, the aged or the
1 This was the Cistercian abbey of Biland in Yorkshire. See Dugd. Baron, i.
123 ; Monast. i. 776.
2 See Dugd. Monast. i. 728. Hawise, the eldest daughter of Walter Espec,
married William Bussey.
8 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
poor ; they spared neither sex, age, or rank, nor any degree or
profession ; they cut to pieces women with child ; and, having slain
all the males, they next drove off in gangs to Scotland, under the
yoke of slavery, the virgins and widows, naked and bound with
cords. Nevertheless, the king, as often as they fell to him as
a share of the spoil, restored them to Robert, prior of Hexham, in
token of their freedom. The Scots also broke into the sanctuaries
of the Lord, and profanely perpetrated violence, obscenity, and
abominations in the consecrated places. Two of them having
broken open the door of the oratory of St. Michael, on the north side
of the Tyne, carried off what they found. This church adjoins the
church of Hexham. These' men, continually possessed by fiends,
when they were rambling before the army through inaccessible places,
both perished miserably; the one breaking his bones among the
rocks, the other being drowned in the fords of the river Tyne. They
afterwards pursued across the Tyne the inhabitants of the district,
who had fled into the desert places ; and rushing upon a multitude of
the whole province, who were in quiet and security at the place called
Tanfield, they butchered them all, and carried away abundant spoil.
The king, at length, returned with his men to his own country ; and
king Stephen coming in Lent1 with a force of military to Wark,
ordered his men to slaughter and make havoc on the land of the
king of Scotland. But king David, having placed himself and his
men at no great distance within a marsh (which was of very limited
extent, and wholly inaccessible all around except by an intricate
path), ordered the citizens of Roxburgh boldly to admit the king of
England within the city if he should approach ; for he watched for
the opportunity of assailing him by night, being confident that
he would have as allies in this preconcerted plot many of the nobles
of the English army, who had clandestinely stirred him up to the
contest. But notice of the snare was given to king Stephen, who,
preparing to return in displeasure, compelled Eustace 2 to resign
into his hand the fortress of Bamborough, and hastily marched back
into England.
After the celebration of Easter week,3 king David of Scotland
again conducted an expedition into Northumberland, and destroyed
all the places about the coast which had escaped the former inroad.
He advanced even as far as Newcastle, and sent forward his troops
to commit cruelties and hostilities about Durham, and as far as the
Tees. Thence making a diversion to the bishop of Durham's castle
at Norham, he caused it to be besieged, and soon compelled the
townsmen to surrender it, and ordered the town itself to be de
stroyed. Meanwhile, William, son of Duncan, as he was slaying
and ravaging about Clitheroe, encountered an array of English
soldiery, which met him in four bands. Putting them to flight by
the energy of his first attack, he put them to the sword, and bore
off much booty and a number of prisoners. This fight between the
English, the Picts, and the Scots, took place at Clitheroe, on Friday,
1 Ash-Wednesday fell upon the 16th of February in this year.
2 Namely, Eustace Fitz-John. See the next page.
3 Easter-Sunday occurred on the 3d of April.
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. * 9
the fifteenth day before the Nativity of St. John the Baptist [10th
June], in the aforesaid year, namely, eleven hundred and thirty -eight.
After these incidents, the soldiers made a sally from Wark, and
seized the king's servants and carriages with provisions, driving
them into the town. But also making an attack upon the king's
son Henry, and his escort, they killed some, and some they wounded
or carried off for ransom. The king, annoyed at this, punished
them by a renewal of the siege, destroying their crops in the fields,
and cutting off all relief. He was able wholly to reduce them only
by want of provisions; for, compelled by this need, at the command
of their lord, Walter Espec, about the feast of St. Martin [llth
Nov.], they surrendered the town, through the agency of the lord
William, the first abbot of Reivaux ; there was found in it nothing
left to eat, except one live horse and another in salt. The king
bestowed on them twenty-four horses, and dismissed them in free
dom with their arms ; but the town he utterly destroyed.
In the same year, and at the same period, namely, in autumn,
king David, having united his forces, directed his march into York
shire ; having in the meanwhile sent two of his barons, with a
number of men, to besiege Wark. Eustace Fitz-John, from whom
king Stephen had taken Bamborough, joined him with his troop of
soldiers, as an ally. This man had in Northumberland a very strong
castle at Alnwick, and another in Yorkshire, namely, Malton. They
marched, therefore, by Bamborough ; and the young men of this
place, rashly presuming on the strength of the wall which they had
built before the castle, annoyed with taunts the Scots as they
passed by. The Scots, provoked in temper, forthwith set them
selves to the destruction of the wall, and, speedily breaking in, killed
all on whom they laid hands.
At that time, archbishop Turstin, of sacred memory, presided
over the church of York — a man of unyielding firmness of mind, in
prosperity or adversity, advanced in years and feeble in body, so
that he had to be carried on a litter wherever the pressure of affairs
demanded. He called out the nobles of Yorkshire, and, by the
watchfulness of his pastoral care, he stirred them up to a steady
resistance. There came also Bernard de Baliol, a man well skilled
in military tactics, bringing with him soldiers sent by king Stephen
to this undertaking. Gathering, therefore, great courage from their
joint deliberation, they mutually bound themselves by oaths to
firmness and assurance. Having, therefore, sought the favour of
God by a three days' fast and by alms, and being strengthened by
the archbishop's absolution and blessing, all, animated by one pur
pose of mind, advanced to the town of Thirsk. Thence Robert de
Bruce and Bernard de Baliol went to the king of Scotland, on the
Tees, promising his son Henry the earldom of Northumberland,
and exhorting him to cease from this invasion. The king refused
to acquiesce. Robert, therefore, absolved himself from the homage
which he had done him for the barony which he held of him in
Galloway, and Bernard from the fealty which he had formerly
promised ; and so they returned to their comrades. They all,
marching to Northallerton, erected in a certain plain belonging to
10 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
the franchise of St. Cuthbert, the standard — that is, a ship's mast —
hanging over them the banner of St. Peter and St. John of Beverley,
and St. Wilfrid of Ripon ; and they placed over them the Body
of the Lord, to be their standard-bearer and the leader of their
battle. Archbishop Turstin then sent with them Ralph Novellus,
his suffragan bishop,1 and other men qualified to receive their con
fession, and to build them up by means of satisfaction in the hope
of a future life. The archbishop himself, prudently withdrawn by
the chiefs from this march to battle, was with his clergy instant in
prayers and supplications, in much affliction and sorrow of heart,
until it was told him how great a deliverance God vouchsafed to his
people. So, then, on the octave of the assumption of St. Mary,
being Monday, the eleventh of the kalends of September [22d Aug.],
the whole army assembled round the standard, the horses having
been sent to a distance, lest any one should conceive the thought
of flight, all with one impulse determining to die or conquer for
their country. These were the chiefs who were most eminent in
rank and dignity : — William de Albemarle, earl Walter de Gant,
Robert de Bruce, Roger de Mowbray, Walter Espec, William de
Percy, Bernard de Baliol, Richard de Courcy, William Fossard,
Robert de Stuthaville, Ilbert de Lacy. This man, and his father
Robert de Lacy, had been banished by king Henry from the king
dom of England. After the king's death, a certain soldier of that
barony, named Pain, slew William Transversus, who by the king's
gift had obtained possession of the barony of Pontefract,2 and this
Ilbert took possession of the barony by right of inheritance. There
were present also with their troops, William Peverel, from the
county of Nottingham; and Robert da Ferrers, from Derbyshire;
and Geoffrey Halsalin.
The king of Scotland now advanced with his troops in battle
array, the Scots being disposed in the first line; they, to a man,
demanding for themselves this position, for the honour of their
country. Naked, and almost unarmed, these men advanced against
battalions clad in mail, and thereby rendered invulnerable. Around
the king were placed men who had attained the order of knighthood,
girt with their weapons of war. The king believed that his bond
required him to conquer or die, out of regard to the oath which he
had sworn to the heirs of king Henry, and the whole of England
with him. The Scots and the Picts with difficulty resisted from the
first hour of the commencement of the conflict to the third ; for
they found themselves pierced and destroyed by arrows, over
whelmed, and overthrown. They all stole away from the field,
casting away their baggage ; and, in scorn of this affair, that place
was called Bagmoor. Soon the firmness of the rest of the army
was shaken and weakened. The chiefs, therefore, induced the king
to call in the horses, and march off with his ranks unbroken, lest
1 He was bishop of the Orkney Islands, over which, at this time, the archbishop
of York claimed ecclesiastical jurisdiction. See Keith's Scottish Bishops, p. 219,
ed. 1824.
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 99, and the account of the same occurrence given after
wards by Richard of Hexham.
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 11
he, too, should perish with his men. The army of York did not
pursue the fugitives, but each man hastened to return to his own
place. Very many of the Scots, straggling in ignorance of the
locality, were put to death wherever they were found. Moreover,
the very ranks of the Scots and Picts, when they encountered each
other in their retreat, striving in useless enmity, destroyed them
selves. The king, therefore, having regained his kingdom, fined the
Scots and Picts, whom he summoned to his presence, in a large
sum of money, and received hostages and oaths from them, that in
every conflict and danger they would faithfully stand by him and
for him. The king of England also, elated with these triumphs of
his, made William de Albemarle earl in Yorkshire, and Robert de
Ferrers earl in Derbyshire.
In the same1 year died Peter Leo,2 who having been by his own
procuring invested by certain persons in the city as pope, out of
hostility to pope Innocent, was for eight years an incubus on the
Roman Church. Innocent truly held rank by free authority over
the city, as he had formerly done over the circuit of the church's
monarchy. He also, by a general decree, deposed all the partakers
in the schism of Peter Leo from all ecclesiastical order and rank,
and forbad, under anathema, that any one in future should, by
similar presumption, usurp the apostolic see. By the same pope
there was sent as legate to England and Scotland, Albericus, bishop
of Ostia, by birth a Gaul, by profession a monk of Clugny, and
who had in that convent been appointed over all the monks in the
office of sub -prior, to administer the observances of their rule ; a
man endowed with surpassing virtue and abundance of learning.
Coming to England, he took as assistants in his duty, Robert,
bishop of Hereford, and Richard, the first abbot of Fountains.
And in his route to the king of Scotland he was reverently received
by the brethren of the church of Hexham, and with him bishop
Aldulf. Three days before he arrived at that place, Eadgar, son of
earl Cospatric, with a band of followers, had sallied from the camp
of the king of Scotland, seizing plunder from a certain village of
the territory of Hexham. They had also attacked a certain village
belonging to the brethren of Hexham ; and having killed three of
their men and seized the spoil of that village, they dishonoured
the prior of Hexham, who chanced to be there that night, by
insults and mockery. The legate, with a mind fully sympathising
on account of this wrons:, remonstrated with the king at Carlisle,
o O
and prevailed on the royal conscience to make amends for this
violence. Then for three days, with the bishops and nobles of the
kingdom of Scotland, who by the king's order had met him there,
he corrected what needed correction, and decreed what ought to
be decreed. He obtained for bishop Aldulf a friendly reception
into the favour of the same king, and to his see of Carlisle. He
recalled by apostolic authority John, bishop of Glasgow, who,
laying aside his episcopal office, had given himself up to the
1 The narrative of events which occurred in the year 1138 is here continued,
after the passage relative to A.D. 1133, concerning which see p. 4, note 2.
a Anaclete the antipope died 25th January, 1138. See Pagi ad an. § 1.
12 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
monkish profession at Tiron.1 He made also the Scots and Picts
yield to him in this matter, that after the feast of St. Martin
[1 1th Nov.] they should bring back all their prisoners to Carlisle and
give them their freedom, and that none of them should again dare
to violate churches, or commit slaughter on the female sex, on
boys, or old men. Throwing himself at the feet of this king, he
forced him to cease from hostility till the feast of St. Martin.
Having disposed of these matters, he returned on the feast of
St. Michael [29th Sept.] to the church of Hexham, and then he
set out for the south of England. The whole of Northumberland
indeed was uncultivated and reduced to a desert, for as many as
survived had either sought asylum in the monasteries or were
lurking in the wilds ; the stronger ones had shut themselves up
within the towns. Therefore, by authority of the apostolic order,
on the feast of St. Nicholas [6th Dec.], the bishops, abbots, and
nobles of the kingdom met the same legate, Alberic, at London,2
in Westminster, in the ninth year of the pontificate of pope
Innocent, and the third of the reign of king Stephen ; the church
of Canterbury was vacant, and the lord Turstin, archbishop of
York, being enfeebled, sent his dean William in his stead. The
legate, prohibiting what should be prohibited, and enacting what
the nature of the requirements of the church demanded to be
enacted, summoned them to appear at Rome, before the lord pope,
at mid-Lent. Having deposed also the abbot of Croyland, he con
secrated as abbots, Godfrey, prior of St. Albans, in his place, and
Adam elect to Battle, near Hastings. The matter of the election
to the church of Canterbury was also agitated, the elect of which
church, namely, Theobald, abbot of Bee, he consecrated archbishop
over that see about the Epiphany of our Lord [6th Jan.]. He also
besought, with much entreaty, the king of England, respecting the
renewal of a peace with the king of Scotland. Matilda, queen of
the English, lent her aid to his wishes by her private entreaties,
being by no means indifferent to the preservation of peace between
her husband and the king of Scotland, her uncle ; for king David
had two sisters, Mary and Matilda: the latter married king Henry;
Mary, the earl of Bologne had taken in marriage, and of her begat
this Matilda, his heiress. But king Stephen took her for his wife
with the earldom of Bologne ; he had of her sons Eustace and
William, who by an early death deceased without children.
In the same year a certain nobleman3 in Northumberland re
ceived on his property, at the castle called Morpeth, on the nones
of January [5th Jan.], eight monks of Fountains, who built the
monastery called Newminster : for whom, on the feast of Epi
phany in this year, Geoffrey, bishop of Durham, consecrated as
abbot the holy man Robert. Them the aforesaid man, namely,
Ralph de Merley, gladly favoured.
*
1 See Keith's Scottish Bishops, p. 231.
2 The history of this council is given more fully by Gervase of Canterbury, coll.
1346, 1347, seq., where its proceedings are preserved. See also Johnson's Canons,
ii. 42.
3 Namely, Ralph de Merley, afterwards mentioned. See Dugd. Monast. i. 800.
A.D. 1139.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 13
A.D. 1139. The aforesaid legate, Alberic, returned after the
octave of the Epiphany [13th Jan.], accompanied on his journey
to Rome by Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury (who went for the
pall), the bishop of Rochester, Simon of Worcester, Roger of
Coventry, and Robert of Exeter. The king held the other bishop
excused from this journey, on account of the disturbances which
were arising everywhere throughout the kingdom. At the instance
of the queen of the English, a truce was agreed upon between the
two kings ; Henry, son of the king of Scotland, receiving at Durham
the earldom of Northumberland. This agreement was confirmed
by the queen and Henry, son of the king of Scotland, on the fifth
of the ides of April [9th April], before the earls and barons of
England, hostages being given by the Scots in token of their fidelity.
Earl Henry went with the queen to the king at Nottingham ; and
as he attended him during the summer, he made munificent pre
sents. He also took to wife Ada, sister of William earl of Warren,
and Walaran earl of Mellent, and Robert earl of Leicester ; and
by her he had these sons, Malcolm, William, and David. Arch
bishop Theobald, having returned with his suffragans from the
sovereign pope, Henry, bishop of Winchester, was appointed legate
of the apostolic see. There died at Rome a man of approved
virtue, Richard, first abbot of Fountains, whom archbishop Turstin
had sent as his legate to the pope. Also Audoenus,1 bishop of
Evreux, brother of the same archbishop Turstin, died and was
buried at Merton, having taken the habit of the canons. Walter
of Gant, and Robert de Ferrers, also died. It happened the same
year that Roger, bishop of Salisbury, Alexander, bishop of Lincoln,
and Nigel, bishop of Ely, nephews of the same Roger, met at the
king's court ; and a tumult having arisen, the servants of the bishop,
among the rest of the mob, cut down a certain nephew of Alan,
earl of Richmond, who afterwards died. In consequence of this,
the same earl laid an accusation before the king against the bishops,
that the disturbance was raised by their faction in a plot against
the king's safety. Bishop Nigel speedily escaped from the court
by a clandestine flight to his fortresses ; and the king felt all the
more excited to revenge himself upon bishops Roger and Alexander,
whom he compelled (by totally depriving them of food) to sur
render their castles, with the abundant treasures which they laid
up in them. But, besides this, he irreverently committed other
unworthy deeds against them, contrary to the dignity of the epi
scopal rank. And it came to pass at that time, that the laity rose
to great disobedience and insolence towards the holy church and
ecclesiastical persons ; whereupon the legate Henry assembled at
Winchester archbishop Theobald and the bishops of England, along
with such others as were earnest about the Christian faith, about
the month of September, and decreed enactments extremely neces
sary and very useful in all ages. For by these, even to the present
day, ecclesiastical severity is effectually brought to bear upon those
persons who either wickedly employ their hands in injuring the
clergy, or plunder the property of the church, whether they lie
1 A sketch of his life may be seen in Gall. Christ, xi. 573.
14 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1139 —
under excommunication or die in it, since, by the promulgation of
these decrees, the insolence of the multitude and the presumption
of the rebellious spirit were taught to submit and respect the sanc
tuary of the Lord.
The same year died Roger, bishop of Salisbury, whose son, the
king's chancellor, the king, out of enmity to the father, had banished
from the kingdom. Thus at last the glory of former circumstances
was brought low in him at whose will, in the days of king Henry, all
the business of the kingdom had been conducted ; for, being second
only to the king, he was exalted above all the judges and princes in
the kingdom. Joselin, archdeacon of Winchester, succeeded him in
the see of Salisbury. And it came to pass, that the empress Alice,
daughter of king Henry, and wife of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, having
landed in England, king Stephen speedily besieged her in a certain
castle, and compelled her to surrender; but, out of an indiscreet
simplicity of mind, he allowed her to go free to Bristol : her brother,
earl Robert, took up her cause, and the soldiers who were in the
fortresses — namely, Gloucester, and Milo, in Hereford, and Brien
Fitz- Count, in Wallingford, with the neighbouring population —
favoured her undertaking. By her means arose a great disturbance
in England, and the stability of king Stephen's reign was shaken.
A.D. 1140. Archbishop Turstin of blessed memory, worn out
with old age, and broken down with long labours, felt that the dis
solution of his body was at hand. For having been appointed to
the government of the church of York in the year one thousand
one hundred and fourteen, on the Assumption of St. Mary [15th
Aug.], he had boldly fought the good fight for it, had perseveringly
kept the faith, had victoriously finished his course ; since he was
harassed by the king with no slight hostilities on account of his
refusal to make the profession to the prelates of Canterbury,
choosing rather to renounce his election than to impair the ancient
liberty of his church.1 Departing from the king's presence, he
acquired among foreign nations a large body of friends, namely,
nobles and women of rank, who dutifully aided him in his sojourn
abroad. Amongst and before whom, bound to him by a greater
devotion of mind, was Adela, countess of Chartres, the sister of king
Henry, and mother of king Stephen and earl Theobald.
A.D. 1141.2 Pope Calixtus held a council at Rheims, on the
thirteenth of the kalends of November [19th Oct.]. The Lord was
with the aforesaid Turstin, whence also he evaded all the endeavours
which his enemies made against him, by obtaining a sounder sen
tence ; since the pope, at the intercession of the cardinals, con
firmed him in his archbishopric by a solemn consecration, and by
giving him a free pall ; he also entirely disregarded the opposition
of the king, and all the outcry of the people of Canterbury. Having
also given him privileges to the extent of his wishes, he forbad, in
future, the archbishop of Canterbury to demand, or the archbishop
of York to make, the profession.
1 See Simeon of Durham's History of the Kings, A.D. 1119, p. 598.
2 The biographical notice of archbishop Thurstan is here continued under the
year 1141 ; the Council of Rheims was held A.D. 1119. See Labb. Concil. x. 862,
and Simeon ad an.
A.D. 1141.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 15
In the year one thousand one hundred and twenty -one, the
sovereign pope's epistle was sent to the king, and to Ralph, arch
bishop of Canterbury, that no one should celebrate the service of
the divine ministry in the churches of Canterbury and York, or in
the parishes adjoining them (except baptism of infants and the
shriving of the dying), unless within one month after the receipt of
this epistle Turstin should be received into the see of York, without
the exaction of the profession. He was in consequence very soon
recalled to England by the king, and solemnly enthroned in his
church. When he was admitted, to mark the contempt in which
he held his rank, he laid aside nothing of the discipline of a holy
life and a fixed resolution of mind ; for in food and clothing, and
the other monastic usages, he in all respects exhibited moderation
in his episcopal dignity. In distributing alms and benevolence to
the poor in the days of his ministry, rarely was there found one like
him. He was also frequent in prayers, and had from God the
grace of tears in the celebration of masses. This man wore a shirt
of hair-cloth, and amid frequent confessions did not spare himself
from corporal castigation. His daily anxiety was the care of souls;
he preferred disciplined and learned men to ecclesiastical offices;
he placed the disposal of the affairs of the church in their hands ;
by his pastoral zeal he cut off the allurements of the wicked; he
was cheerful in hospitality, placable with uprightness towards the
submissive, severe without inhumanity towards the rebellious. Two
years before his election, he endowed the church of Hexham, which
was founded on the principles of the regular order, with lands,
possessions, and great offerings, advancing it to a good position
in the divine service. He also watched over the monks of the
monastery of Fountains, of which he was the founder, with similar
munificent care. In the church of York, and other churches, there
are held in great reverence, in memory of him, the treasured
offerings, precious and numerous, which he with a bountiful hand
bestowed upon them. He so ordered his men and his house in
quiet peace and abundance of necessaries, — so preserved the liber
ties, dignities, and privileges of churches and ecclesiastical persons,
and carried them on to daily religious improvement, — that one
would certainly say that the divine wisdom co-operated with him.
Few are there in these days who with such regard cherish religious
persons, promote them to benefices, constantly supply necessitous
places with sumptuous alms. Feeling, then, that the vigour of life
was growing weak in him, he wisely set his house in order, paying
his servants' wages, restoring what had been taken away, and
taking thought with skilful management about each separate matter.
Having assembled in his chapel the priests of the church of York,
and solemnly made confession before them, he stretched himself
naked on the ground before the altar of St. Andrew, and received
from them the discipline of corporal chastisement, with tears flow
ing from a contrite heart; and, mindful of the vow which, as a
young man, he had made at Clugny, he went to the monks of the
Clugniac order at Pontefract, the elders of the church of York and
many of the laity accompanying him; and on the feast of the
16 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1141.
Conversion of St. Paul [25th Jan.], he solemnly received the habit
and benediction of a monk; and during the remaining days of his
life, he was intent on the salvation of his soul. In the year, then, of
our Lord's incarnation one thousand one hundred and forty, (being
the seventy-fifth from the coming of the Normans to England, the
fifth of the reign of Stephen, the twenty-fifth year and sixth month
of his archiepiscopate,) on Thursday, the eighth of the ides of
February [6th Feb.], surrounded by the principal persons of the
church of York and other religious men, as the hour of his sum
mons drew near, he himself celebrated nine vigils for the departed,
and himself read the lesson, gave the verse of the response, " Dies
ilia, dies irae," laying a mournful and significant emphasis on each
word, and at the end of lauds, the monks being all assembled at
prayer, he yielded up his spirit. He was buried with becoming
honour, before the high altar, in the church of St. John the Evan
gelist. Some days after this he appeared, duly arrayed in his pon
tifical robes, to one of his archdeacons, Geoffrey Turcople,1 a man
of well-known attainments in scholastic learning, as he was reposing
in slumber; and on his asking, " Is there not hope of my salvation,
my father ? " he answered him in these words :
" Life in the flesh was death ; but being freed
From fleshly trammels, blest I live indeed."
Many years afterwards, the monks wishing to make some repairs
near the place of his interment, the stone placed over it was
removed, when no appearance of corruption was found either in
his corpse or his vestments. After his death, forthwith sprang up
the insolence and roving licence of unrestrained disputes, shameless
contempt of the clergy, irreverence of the laity towards ecclesias
tical laws and persons ; the solidity of the kingdom was destroyed,
because each man's will was his law.
In the same year, earl Henry 2 went with his wife to the king of
England. Ralph, earl of Chester, rose in hostility against him, on
account of Carlisle and Cumberland, which he claimed as his own
by right of inheritance, and he endeavoured with an armed force to
entrap him on his return. But the king, instigated by the queen's
entreaties, restored him to his father and his country, having
secured him from the threatened danger; and this hostility was
transferred to plots against the king's safety: for earl Ralph seized
all the fortifications of Lincoln. Earl Alan,3 in a stealthy night -
attack, scaling the wall, stormed with his men the fortress of
Galcluit,4 and seized that castle, with its abundant treasure, having
driven out William de Albany,5 with his men. The same Alan,
1 Geoffrey, provost of Beverley, occurs in 1176 (R. de Diceto, col. 589) as arch
deacon of the West Riding of York ; but whether he was the same person as
Geoffrey Turcople, is uncertain. See Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 131.
2 Henry, earl of Huntingdon, son of David, king of Scotland.
3 Alan, earl of Brittany and Richmond, concerning whom see Dugd. Baron, i. 49.
4 Dugdale (Baron, i. 49) understands John of Hexham as meaning that this
castle of Galcluit formed one of the outworks of the castle of Lincoln; but such
is evidently not the meaning of this author.
5 Dugd. Baron, i. 113.
A.D. 1142.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 17
earl of Richmond, fortified a camp at Houghton,1 in the land of the
bishop of Durham; and his hand was raised against Ripon, and
the men of that place. For he and other powerful men carried off
whatever necessaries archbishop Turstin had kept stored in barns
and other places for his successor, according as each man bordered
on the arcniepiscopal lands.
A.D. 1142. After the death of archbishop Turstin, the clergy of
York were for a whole year, according to the impulse of their heart,
driven about in various and unsettled opinions about making an
election. At the persuasion of the legate, Henry of Winchester
they had chosen king Stephen's nephew, Henry de Coilli ; 2 but as
he presided over the abbey of Caen, the sovereign pontiff would not
appoint him to the archbishopric, unless he would resign the former
dignity. Again proceeding to an election in the month of January,
most of them agreed on the person of William,3 the treasurer.
William,4 earl of York, was present, being anxious for his pro
motion. And at the same hour there appeared above them in the
air a large sign of the cross extended over the length and breadth
of the church of St. Peter. Opposed to this election was master
Walter, archdeacon of London, with his brother archdeacons; the
same earl waylaid him, as he was on his way to the king, and shut
him up in his castle of Biham; and so the bishop elect, having
been brought to Lincoln, the king gladly received him, and con
firmed him in the lands and possessions of York.
In this same month of January, Ralph, earl of Chester, having
formed a conspiracy with his companions at Lincoln, obstinately
determined on harassing the king's kingdom. (An earthquake had
been thrice heard in the same city after Christmas -day.) This
conspiracy very speedily became known to king Stephen, who
appeared quickly and unexpectedly, and laid siege to the earl.
The earl sallied by night from the fortress in which he was block
aded, and went to Robert, earl of Gloucester, whose daughter he
had married, and him also he drew over to his own side, as well as
the family of the empress and the Welsh. The nobles urged the
king to levy an army, declaring that they had assembled, unarmed,
to confer with the king, and not to engage in battle. The king
was scornful, exclaiming, that those cowardly boys would never
attempt any such thing against him ; for he was cajoled by the
speciousness of the young earls, who in speech favoured the king,
but by counsel and aid supported the forces of his adversaries.
On the Purification of St. Mary [2d Feb.], there came up in
strong force Robert, earl of Gloucester, Ralph, earl of Chester,
and his brother William de Romar ; Robert was the leader and
conductor of the battle. The king also led out his allies to the
combat. Before the commencement of the fight, Alan, earl of
Richmond, abandoned the king and the battle ; William,5 earl of
1 Sherif Hutton, in Yorkshire, then part of the possessions of the bishop of
Durham.
2 Called also Henry de Sodle and Henry de Crilli. See Gallia Christ, xi. 425.
3 William Fitzherbert. See Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 99.
This was William de Albemarle. See Dugd. Baron, i. 62.
5 This is confirmed by Ordericus Vitalis, cited in Dugd. Baron, i. 75.
VOL. IV. C
18 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1142.
York, placed the king in peril by deserting from the field. The
enemy, deriving encouragement from this, slaughtered those who
stood firm ; Bernard de Baliol, Roger de Mowbray, Richard de
Courcy, William Fossart, William Peverel, William Clerfeith, and
many others, were taken prisoners. Many being slain, all were at
length overthrown, as also Waleran, earl of Mellent. The king
stood in the fight like a lion, the bravest of the brave, fearing the
attack of no one. He cut down all who encountered him, until
his sword was shattered in his hand ; but a certain citizen of Lin
coln supplied him with a Danish axe. It is not easy to tell with
what a spirit of bravery he pressed on the enemy. He at length
perceived that almost all his comrades being scattered, he would be
left alone, yet no one ventured to lay hands on him to take him.
Earl Ralph, who was desirous of making an attack on him, he
struck on the head with his axe, and, bringing him on his knees to
the ground, taught him to be more careful for the future. At his
own suggestion, earl Robert, his kinsman, the son of king Henry,
was called, to whom the king himself consented to make surrender
of his person. He was then brought to Bristol, and placed in con
finement. William de Clerfeith cleverly escaping from the hands
of earl Ralph, betook himself to his castle of Tickhill, and by
constant alarums harassed that earl and his company. After this
the same earl compelled Gilbert de Gant, a youth who was taken
prisoner with the king, to marry his niece. Earl Ralph seized
Alan, earl of Richmond, when summoned to a conference with
him, and compelled him by great distress of famine to surrender to
him the castle of Galdiut1 and the treasure stored in it, and inflicted
upon him other injuries. The empress Adela deprived William
Peverel of the castle of Nottingham, and placed in it as warden
William Painel, with his troops. Other men of eminence, who were
taken with the king, she released, an agreement for their ransom
having been made. The greatest portion of the kingdom submitted
to her, the legate Henry and archbishop Theobald acknowledging the
government of the said empress ; as did also the cities of London
and Winchester.
Thesee of London becomingvacant, Robert deSigillo,whohadbeen
king Henry's chancellor, then a monk of Reading, a good man, was
called to the administration of that see, which was to its advantage.
After Easter died Geoffrey,2 bishop of Durham. His relatives
concealing this event, had him disembowelled, and sprinkled and
steeped in salt, and so they kept him unburied until (acting upon
the authority of David, king of Scotland) they admitted within the
fortress of Durham William Cumin, chancellor of the said king.
For the said William had been a clerk and pupil of this bishop
Geoffrey, in the court of king Henry.
King David, seeing that many things concurred to the advance
ment of the empress, his niece, after our Lord's ascension [28th
May], proceeded to join her in the south of England. Coming to
Durham, he was admitted into the town, where he ordered that
everything should be reserved for the decision of the empress, and
1 See p. 16, note 4 2 Compare Simeon's History, p. 718.
A.D. 1142.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 19
in the meanwhile that William Cumin should undertake the charge
of affairs. The king then came to his niece, and got most of the
nobles to agree with him, that she should be elevated to the rule of
the whole kingdom. But she, far from following the king's coun
sel, elated by woman's levity, assumed a majestic haughtiness of
demeanour, and so she provoked the nobles by arrogant denun
ciations ; she also declared that she would deal severely with king
Stephen. On this account the legate Henry, bishop of Win
chester, king Stephen's brother, deserted from her, and very many
were excited to enmity against her. Also the citizens of London
drove her from the city, and very great disturbance arose in the
kingdom, from dissensions between those who held for the empress
and those who abjured her. William de Ypres, a Fleming, governed
the household of king Stephen, and Pharamus,1 a nephew of queen
Matilda, who also was a native of Boulogne. The queen made
supplication to all, importuned all W7ith prayers, promises, and fail-
words for the deliverance of her husband. And God resisted the
proud, and gave grace to the humble. For the empress having
collected her forces, went up with the king of Scotland and earl
Robert to Winchester, she having heard that her soldiers who were
besieged in the royal fortress, had been vanquished by the troops of
the legate who were within its walls. The queen, advancing with
her forces, laid siege to them. And in this adventure she obtained
the aid of the legate Henry, and the Londoners, and a great num
ber of the nobles of the kingdom, who assembled from day to day,
with whom also was Ralph, earl of Chester. Against these there
was raised a murmuring of those in the army, who dreaded some
treachery. He therefore went over to the besieged ; but the siege
being continued for a long period, the multitude were oppressed by
famine. Two hundred soldiers were then sent out with Robert,
natural son of Eda,2 and king Henry, and John Marshal,3 in
order to convey into the city those who were bringing provisions
for the service of the empress and the besieged. William de Ypres
and a portion of the army pursuing them to Wrarewell (where is
a convent of nuns), seized both the troops and the whole store,
which was abundant. Tidings of those events reached those who
were in the city, who, considering that their hope of safety lay
in retreat rather than in combat, marched out, lest the victors
under William de Ypres, who were returning to their allies, having
gathered confidence by their daily successes, might perchance lay
schemes to surprise them. Nor was the empress rescued without
hard fighting and extreme difficulty. Geoffrey Boterel, the brother
of Alan, earl of Richmond, won great renown in her defence, for
he rallied the last of his company, and nobly sustained and vigor
ously repelled the assaults of the' enemy. The king of Scotland,
having lost almost all his men, barely escaped, and made a pre
cipitate retreat to his kingdom. For a certain godson of his, David
Holifard, a comrade of those who besieged the city of Winchester,
1 Such is the reading of Twysden's edition.
2 Robert, the son of king Henry I. by Editha, or Eda, concerning whom see
Anderson's Genealog. Tables, p. 741. 3 gee ]}ugci. Baron, i. 599.
c 2
20 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1142—
secreted him ; so that those who were in eager search of the king
did not discover him. Earl Robert was intercepted and captured
at the pass of a certain bridge. And not long afterwards, that is,
about the feast of St. Martin [12th Nov.], by the deliberate agree
ment of both parties, king Stephen was restored to the kingdom, and
earl Robert set at liberty with his men.
The legate Henry, bishop of Winchester, remitted to the judg
ment of the apostolic sovereign, William, the archbishop elect of
York. For William, abbot of Rievaux, Richard, second abbot of
Fountains, Cuthbert, prior of Gisburn, Wallefus, prior of Kirkham,
and Robert Hospitalis, charged him with having achieved that
dignity by a pecuniary agreement. Also Robert Biseth, prior of
Hexham, on hearing of his election, quitted at once his house and
his brethren, and gave himself up to the religious life under Ber
nard, abbot of Clairvaux. .
A.D. 1143. Richard was confirmed prior of Hexham, according
to the election of the brethren, by the hand of William the dean,
and the chapter of York, since at that time the cause of William,
archbishop elect of York, was being heard in the consistory of pope
Innocent. Master Walter, archdeacon of London, was also present
as the bearer of the written charges of the abbots and priors against
him. A decree at length was given, that, on the third Sunday in
Lent of the following year, both those who were then present and
those who were absent should assemble there. William Painel,
commander of the soldiers in Nottingham, marched a troop of
soldiers to Southwell, with intent to break down the wall wherewith
the enclosures of the church of St. Mary were protected, and to
carry off the spoil. A great assemblage of the province, who had
rushed thither for the defence of the place, acted courageously.
There also fell by an arrow-shot one of the soldiers of the enemy's
army, who was speaking in a boastful manner against that place.
So this William went to the empress, in order that when he re
turned with a large force of soldiers, he might storm the place ;
but, behold ! in the darkness of the night, by the contrivance of two
youths who had charge of the mills, the soldiers of William Peverel
scaled the rock on which the citadel was built, and obtained pos
session of the town, and expelled from Nottingham all who were in
favour of the empress. After Easter [4th April], king Stephen,
followed by his queen Matilda, came to York, and put an end to
the passages of arms which were being carried on between William,
earl of York, and Alan, earl of Richmond. And he had a design
to go and avenge his former injuries, and to restore the kingdom to
its ancient dignity and integrity ; but being seized with illness, he
disbanded the military force wrhich he had levied. At this period
Robert de Brus died. Also William Cumin having, by the present
ation of the empress, become master of the episcopal property of
Durham, grievously harassed very many : his conduct savoured
somewhat of the tyrant. Ralph, archdeacon of Durham, nephew
of Ralph, bishop of Durham, a man of eminent virtue in these
ecclesiastical difficulties, took his departure, choosing exile in pre
ference to submitting to the intrusion by which William Cumin
A.D.1144.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 21
aimed at the episcopal dignity. Roger, prior of the same church,
speedily followed him, a man of most revered worth, instructed
from his earliest years in monastic discipline. Not long after,
divine service was interdicted in the church of Durham, and all
worship of God ceased in it.
A.D. 1144. According to the order of the apostolic decree, WiK
Ham, abbot of Rievaux, Richard, the second abbot of Fountains,
Cuthbert, prior of Gisburn, Wallevus, prior of Kirkham, and
Robert Hospitalis, were at Rome, with whom were Walter, arch
deacon of London, and William, precentor of York. William the
elect was also there with his supporters, against whom those who
had charged him proceeded to a trial before the pope. The sum
of their complaint appeared to lie in this, that William, earl of
York, commanded, as the representative of the king in the chapter
of York, that this William should be elected. The pope therefore
decreed, that if William, dean of York, would swear that this order
of the king was never brought by the earl before the chapter, he
might be duly admitted to consecration, provided also that he
would give a pledge in his own person that he had not sought this
preferment by bribery. It was likewise ruled that, in place of the
dean, another approved person might be substituted to take the
oath. Roger, the prior of Durham, and Ralph, the archdeacon,
sent a deputation to the pope, and laid before him the afflictions of
the church of Durham. Armed with his authority, they summoned
to meet them at York, in the chapel of St. Andrew (which is within
the church of St. Peter), a few of the clergy of the diocese of Dur
ham, whom they could with difficulty collect, in the middle of
Lent, on account of the persecution of William Cumin. All these
agreed in the election of William, the archdeacon of York, who at
that time was taking part in a council at London ; for he was
a man of great age, worthy of the episcopal dignity from his learned
acquirements, his discretion of mind, and uprightness of life.
Meeting him on his return at Wintringham, on the river Humber,
and taking him into the church, they laid before him the business
of their deliberation ; and although he greatly resisted and opposed,
they confirmed the agreement of their choice in him by the invoca
tion of the divine favour. A delay took place as to his promotion,
because the legate Henry, bishop of Winchester, had crossed over
into Normandy. At his return, about Whitsuntide, the bishop
elect, with the clergy of Durham, went to Winchester, where the
consent of the legate being obtained, and through him that of the
king, on the octaves of St. John Baptist [1st July], nine bishops
assisting, he was consecrated with due solemnity in the church of
St. Swithin. The pope placed William Cumin under anathema,
and his archdeaconry, which he had in the church of Worcester,
was given to another, without hope of recovery. He, exasperated
by these punishments, assailed like a most savage spoiler all the
clergy and laity on whom he could lay hands, and exhausted the
whole treasure of the province ; neither prince nor noble could
repress his violence. There was, however, a certain soldier, Roger
de Coincneriis, a good and faithful man, who would not consent to
22 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.'D. 1144-—
share in the deeds of William Cumin. Wherefore on his property,
to wit, at Bishopton, he fortified a little stronghold, because the
place was suitable, being surrounded by a marsh. In this bishop
William was entertained, and was plunged in grief because he saw
the people and affairs of the bishopric thus harassed. Earl Henry,
son of the king of Scotland, and Alan, earl of Richmond, corrupted
by the bribes of William Cumin, had often deceived the bishop by
vain professions. This bishop came with a large train to Durham,
striving to surround the church of St. Giles with a trench, in order
that he might hold that place for his defence. And the monks who
were within it had prepared a secret passage, by which they designed
to introduce the bishop with his men. The matter became known
to William Cumin, who, making an attack with his armed followers,
burst violently into the monastery, and, finding the monks prostrate
in distress of mind around the body of St. Cuthbert, he ordered
them to be put to death, though to this no one would agree. He
placed there guards and arms. In these times very many, in
numerous places, inflicted similar injuries upon churches and eccle
siastical persons. For Geoffrey de Magnavilla, having ejected the
monks from the monastery of Ramesby, desecrated it by converting
it into a castle. William, earl of York, troubled by the hostility
of Ralph, earl of Chester, and Gilbert de Ghent, converted the
monastery of St. Mary, at Brellinton, into a castle. Alan, earl
of Richmond, likewise, with some armed men, breaking into the
church at Ripon, rudely insulted archbishop William, beside the
body of St. Wilfrid. This archbishop William, returning in
the month of September from his foreign travel, according to the
apostolic decree, appeared at Winchester for the judgment of the
legate, the nobles of the clergy of England sitting together with
him. The affection of the multitude was urgent in his favour, they
not so much requesting as demanding his consecration ; and no
one appeared there who ventured to object anything against him.
William, bishop of Durham, being summoned to this convention,
sent a reply, excusing himself on account of the pressing disturb
ances of William Cumin. In his place, Ralph Nuel, bishop of
Orkney, Severinus, abbot of York, and Benedict, abbot of Whitby,
stood up to answer for the elect. William, archbishop of York,
was therefore consecrated by the legate, namely, Henry, bishop of
Winchester, on the sixth of the kalends of October [26th Sept.],
numbers rejoicing at his promotion. In this year died pope Inno
cent. In his room was substituted Celestinus, a man of great age,
who had designs somewhat beyond his power against Roger, king
of Sicily, on account of that same Sicily which belonged by right
to the pope. He had been educated amongst the inhabitants of
Anjou, and designed to strengthen their hands by the abasement
of king Stephen ; on which ground he was excited to a dislike of
Henry, bishop of Winchester. Milo, earl of Hereford, died on the
eve of our Lord's Nativity [24th Dec.], being pierced with an arrow
when engaged in hunting ; also, Adam de Brus died.
A.D. 1145. Henry, bishop of Winchester, on his way to Rome,
tarried at Clugny ; and, in the meanwhile, pope Celestine died, and
A.D. 1146.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 23
was succeeded by Lucius, a man of less severe temperament. The
aforesaid bishop Henry found favour in his sight, and refuted the
criminal charges of those whom the empress had sent against him ;
but, nevertheless, he did not continue to hold the title and office of
legate.
At this time a young soldier, William, nephew of William
Cumin, regarded by many, a man skilled in military tactics and the
administration of public business, enclosed with a wall the church
of St. John the Evangelist at Merrington, and there placed a gar
rison of soldiers. A certain young man, a mason, who built the
ramparts on the walls of the church, lost his senses and died.
The same soldier also was struck with disease, and suffered the
penalty of death, which speedily ensued, and upon his decease the
hope and confidence of William Cumin fell to the ground. Here
upon he adopted a more moderate tone, and desired to be recon
ciled to the bishop, before a similar vengeance should fall upon
himself. Therefore, by the mediation of William the archbishop,
bishop William and William Cumin agreed upon a treaty of peace
to this effect, that Richard Cumin should hold of the bishop,
Alverton, but that the rest of the property should be entirely given
up into the hands of the bishop. This Richard was the nephew
of William Cumin, brother of that William who died. So on the
day of St. Luke the Evangelist [18th Oct.], the bishop was en
throned in the episcopal see by the hand of William the archbishop,
and William Cumin with his train was absolved. Nevertheless,
the penalty of deserved vengeance from the Lord pursued him ;
for some days after, a certain soldier, Robert de Mundaville, to
wards whom and his wife (a daughter of Geoffrey, bishop of Durham)
the same William Cumin had acted iniquitously, slew a nephew of
this William, Osbert, a young soldier much beloved by all who
were in the service of earl Henry, son of the king of Scotland ;
and with him Stephen, a soldier, a man of great power, and an
energetic ally of William Cumin. Also Richard de Luvetot seized
William Cumin himself, and for many days afflicted him in prison
with grievous pains and tortures. King Stephen besieged the
empress in Oxford, seeking rather her surrender than that of the
town. But she, taking advantage of the night, escaped in the
snow, clothed in white robes, and sought refuge in \Vallingford.
A.D. 1146. Hicmar, bishop and cardinal, sent by pope Lucius,
came as legate into England, bringing the pall intended for arch
bishop William. But William himself, through carelessness, de
layed to meet him, being engaged in other affairs of less moment,
as was customary with him. For being the son of Herbert of
Winchester, treasurer of king Henry, he had been brought up in
luxury and wealth, and was little accustomed to exertion; never
theless, much endeared to the populace by the kindness and libe
rality of a mild disposition. Then pope Lucius died, and Eugenius
governed the apostolic see, an abbot of the Cistercian order, pre
viously called Bernard, Likewise died William, first abbot of
Rievaux, held to this day among his successors in revered memory
for deeds of illustrious virtue. Maurice succeeded ; one brought
24 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1146 —
up from childhood as a monk in the cloister of Durham, and who,
from a desire of perfection, transferred himself to the rigour of
the Cistercian discipline. Influenced by the same zeal for perfec
tion, after a time he renounced the office of abbot, and Ethelred
was appointed in his place, one who had obtained from the Lord an
excellent grace in the preaching of wisdom. Also Richard, the
second abbot of Fountains, departed this life. Bernard, abbot of
Clairvaux, translated to the government of that place Henry Mur-
dac, abbot of Clairvaux, of excellent family indeed, but especially
excelling in temperance of living, and enriched by the gift of his
parents before his monastic profession, under the venerable arch
bishop Turstin, with honours and riches, both in the church of
York and in the adjoining province. Those, therefore, who were
opposed to archbishop William, regaining confidence, assembled,
and with them this Henry, relying greatly on his favour with the
pope. On their pressing their appeal against the said archbishop of
York, Hicmar was recalled, and returned to Rome, carrying back
the pall.
A.D. 1147. William, archbishop of York, made a journey to
pope Eugenius, to obtain the pall, the insignia of his office. The
voices of the Roman senate were strongly in his favour; but Ber
nard, abbot of Clairvaux, wrote against him, and the pope reso
lutely opposed him, as if repudiating the sin of witchcraft and the
iniquity of idolatry. He was thus placed in a dilemma, since in
adhering to the views of the abbot, he set at nought the opinion of
the Roman cardinals. At length he pronounced the suspension of
William from the episcopal office, until William, bishop of Durham,
formerly dean of York, should, according to the decree of pope
Innocent, put an end to this dispute by his oath. On this William,
perceiving that his affairs were not prospering, went to visit his
relative Roger, king of Sicily, and spent a considerable time with
that king's chancellor, Robert, an Englishman, a native of Salis
bury. This Robert was the most influential of the king's friends,
a man of great wealth, and invested with high dignities. Enraged
at William's troubles, certain soldiers of his kindred destroyed by
fire a farm of the monks of Fountains, with the abundant stores
there laid up. Complaint of this was made to the pope, who was
very anxious to seize William, and take vengeance on him.
A quarrel having arisen at this period between Theobald, arch
bishop of Canterbury, and Henry, bishop of Winchester, they
appealed against each other to the pope, and each endeavoured to
gain his favour, and that of the senate, by letters and sumptuous
presents. Moreover, the archbishop suspended the bishop from the
episcopal and priestly functions. Through king Stephen's influence,
however, his brother, the bishop was restored to the archbishop's
favour ; on account of which the archbishop incurred the pope's
anger for having acted without his advice, the pontiff not being
favourably disposed towards king Stephen and his brother, bishop
Henry, Eminent among the Roman clergy at this time was
Robert Pulleyne,1 chancellor of the apostolic see, abounding in all
, l See Cave, Hist. Lit. ii. 222 ; Oudin, ii. 1121 ; Wright, Anglo-Norm. Biog. p. 182.
A.D. 1148.] HISTORY OF THE 'CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 25
wisdom and knowledge, of British origin, devoted from his earliest
years to philosophy, for the sake of which he rejected a bishopric
offered by king Henry, and having food and clothing, was there
with content.
A.D. 1148. Louis, king of France, in his zeal for the Christian
faith, set forth to expel the pagan host from Jerusalem, being
accompanied in his journey by his queen, Eleanor, daughter of
William, duke of Aquitaine. A multitude well-nigh innumerable,
moved by a similar impulse, set out from every kingdom and pro
vince of Christendom. William, earl of Warenne, perished in this
expedition, being cut off by the pagans, when keeping guard in the
rear of the Christian army. With him illustrious princes of the
continent also perished, and a very great numbei of men. Roger
de Mowbray won renowned fame by conquering, in single combat,
a pagan king. Pope Eugenius, presiding at a council1 in France,
decreed by general proclamation the deposition of William of York
from the functions and benefice of the archbishopric of York. He
also addressed a letter to William, bishop of Durham, and the
chapter of York, requiring them, within forty days after the receipt
of his epistle, to elect in his stead a man of learning, judgment,
and piety. Thereupon Henry, bishop of Winchester, entertained
this William on his return from Sicily, and most punctiliously ren
dered him the daily attendance due to an archbishop. During the
whole period of his humiliation he uttered no murmur or complaint,
but in the silence of his own self-possessed mind, he exercised
himself in patience. He never reproached his opponents, and closed
his heart and ears against those who did. None of his associates
attended so constantly and assiduously to reading, or gave himself
so much to preaching, for he became altogether a changed cha
racter. So, in obedience to the pope's decree, the superior clergy
of the church and diocese of York assembled at St. Martin's
church in the suburb of Richmond, on the eve of St. James
the Apostle [24th July], to proceed to the election of an arch
bishop. The bishop of Durham declined to appear, on account
of the hostility of William, earl of York, from whom, under
penalty of excommunication, the bishop required the restoration of
Ovenden and other possessions of the church of Durham, which
had been wrested from him by the earl. A difference arose as to
the person most proper to be elected; for Robert of Gant, the
king's chancellor and dean, and Hugh of Pudsey, the king's nephew
and treasurer, both of whom archbishop William had promoted to
high offices in the church of York, and a party with them, united
in the choice of Master Hilary, the pope's clerk. But William,
bishop of Durham, Aldulf, bishop of Carlisle, William de Augo,
precentor of York, the archdeacons, and the rest on their side,
gave the preference to Henry Murdac, abbot of Fountains. The
pope determined this question by consecrating Henry archbishop,
at the city of Treves, on the octave of St. Andrew [7th Dec.], the
second Sunday in Advent. Hilary, by the pope's direction, was
consecrated bishop of the church of Chichester. This Hilary,
1 Holden at Rheims, 21 March, 1148. See Jaffe, Regest. Rom. Pontiff, p. 631.
26 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1148—
when in the service of Henry, bishop of Winchester, acquired the
highest praise; and when afterwards transferred to the service of
the pope, he proved himself, in the pleading and prosecution of
causes in the Roman court, a most fluent advocate and skilful
lawyer. In this year1 died John, bishop of Glasgow, who, on
account of the excellence of his character, was held in much regard
by David, king of Scotland; he was buried in the church of Jed-
burgh, where he had established a convent of regular clergy. In
his room was elected Herbert, abbot of Kelso, also an energetic
man ; he was consecrated by pope Eugenius at Auxerre. Alexan
der, bishop of Lincoln, died; also Robert, earl of Gloucester, an
illegitimate son of king Henry.
A.D. 1149. Malachy, archbishop of Ireland, full of faith and of
the Holy Spirit, by direction of the pope made a journey through
England, doing good to multitudes by his wholesome teaching in
the word of doctrine; he then went to Clairvaux, where, falling ill,
he made a most blessed end, resting in the Lord on the fourth of the
nones of November [2d Nov.]. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, has
given a faithful narrative2 of his manner of life from his early years,
how he " fed the flock of the Lord in the integrity of his heart, and
guided them by the skilmlness of his hands/' (Psal. Ixxviii. 72.)
Robert, bishop of Hereford, also died abroad, being taken ill on
a visit to the pope; his clergy, out of regard for his worthy and
devout life, had him conveyed thence and interred at his episcopal
see. At this time the city of Lisbon in Spain was besieged and
taken bv assault bv the Christians; who, driving out the heathen
J J o
there, revived the episcopal see. Henry, archbishop of York, came
to England; but king Stephen and the city of York refused to
acknowledge him, and a grievous disturbance took place there ; for
whoever attempted to leave the city to join him, if he fell into the
hands of the citizens, was expelled with torture and confiscation of
his property. The revenues of the states were appropriated to the
king's exchequer, and the retainers of St. Peter were subjected to
violence and spoliation. Archbishop Henry retired to Ripon, and
pronounced sentence of excommunication on the treasurer, Hugh
Pudsey, and the inhabitants of the city of York. He inflicted the
same penalty likewise on William, earl of York, and the whole of
his opponents. But Hugh the treasurer, having command of the
church of York, allowed none of the ecclesiastical services to be
neglected, and with equal readiness caused archbishop Henry and
his adherents to be excommunicated. This affair created shameful
discord and angry contention in the archbishopric. William,
bishop of Durham, received archbishop Henry with due respect;
and when he came to king David at Carlisle, Adulf, bishop of that
city, treated him with equal reverence. At this time Henry,
bishop of Winchester, having gone to Rome, with profuse expense
and great show of opulence, effectually secured himself before the
pope from the menaces of his enemies. At his request the pope
1 The events of the year 1147 are here blended with those of 1148, as will be
seen on a comparison of this passage with the Chronicle of Melrose.
a S. Bernardi Abbatis Opera, i. 1465, ed. Par. 1839.
A.D. 1150.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 27
wrote to archbishop Henry, desiring him to deal more gently with
his nephew, Hugh Pudsey. This. Hugh the treasurer, in the mean
while, defended with a military force the episcopal possessions and
the castle of Winchester, himself taking part in the fight. On his
removal to this distance, his associates became more moderate
in their opposition to archbishop Henry.
A.D. 1150. Henry, son of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, and the
empress Adela, came to Carlisle at Easter [15th April], where king
David entertained him with great respect and sumptuous provision
of costly munificence. He conferred on him the order of knight
hood, assisted by his son Henry, and Ralph, earl of Chester. The
said Ralph laid aside the animosity with which he had been wont to
claim Carlisle as of hereditary right, and did homage to king David.
It was agreed between them, that instead of Carlisle he should have
the lordship of Lancaster, and earl Ralph's son should marry one
of the daughters of Henry, son of the king of Scotland. At this
time king Stephen came to York, and gave up to the citizens to be
destroyed the fortress of Coldric ; for, on account of the fear of
the townsfolk, who did not dare to enter or leave the city on that
side, they induced the king to come thither by the promise of a
large sum of money. Also king David and the young Henry,
duke of Normandy, and Ralph, earl of Chester, formed a joint
design to act with their united forces against king Stephen.
King David, accompanied by the said Henry, marched with his
troops to Lancaster, where also earl Ralph promised to meet them
with his levies ; but, retracting all that he had undertaken, he
abandoned this project. Duke Henry in consequence returned to
his own country, and occupied himself in military exercises, being
a man of powerful frame, and in disposition possessing somewhat
of the gravity of age. Between him and king Stephen's son
Eustace there was a rivalry in excellence, for they both aimed at
the sovereignty of the same kingdom. Upon Eustace his father
conferred the dignity of knighthood with great pomp, supported by
the kindness and liberality of his brother Henry, bishop of Win
chester. At the instigation of the citizens of York, king Stephen
went to Beverley, and imposed a fine on the people of that place,
who had dared without his leave to receive into their town the
archbishop Henry. But he was withheld from erecting a fortress
there, being alarmed by an apparition of St. John and his threaten-
ings. Returning then to York, he taxed separately the principal
men, according to the station of each and his amount of wealth.
The kingdom also suffered great loss ; for each man, according
to his own artifice, debased the value of money and coin.
After the king's departure his son Eustace went to York, and
finding the sacred offices discontinued there, he compelled the
clergy to fulfil all the divine services. Upon this archbishop
Henry eagerly wrote a complaint to the pope. In the same year
Robert de Chesney, archdeacon of the church of Lincoln, being
•elevated to the government of that church, was consecrated bishop.
Also Louis, king of France, returned to his throne from his expe
dition to Jerusalem.
28 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1151—
A.D. 1151. Robert de Sigillo, bishop of London, who had de
voutly discharged his episcopal duties, died from eating poisoned
grapes at a banquet. Many learned men of great reputation, who
partook of the same meal, died also. He was succeeded by
Richard, archdeacon of London, a man possessed of admirable
eloquence, but his latter days were full of sorrow ; for, becoming
dumb for many years, he at last died a melancholy death. Gilbert,
bishop of Lisbon, preached in England, and stirred up a great many
to undertake an expedition to Spain, to attack and storm Seville.
About this time Ralph, earl of Chester, being detected in an
attempt to renew some of his former treacheries against Stephen,
was placed in close confinement ; and being subjected to great
severity and distress, he restored to the king Lincoln and his other
strongholds. Some time after, on giving his nephew, Gilbert de
Clare, as a hostage, he was set at liberty ; but repudiated all his
engagements, and placed his hostage in peril. And being troubled
on account of his fortresses, of which he had been deprived, he, by
way of remedy, conceived the design of recalling duke Henry from
Normandy to England, promising him his assistance in acquiring
the kingdom and the concurrence of numbers. Henry, duke of
Normandy, therefore, came to England, and entered a church near
the shore, to offer his devotions. Immediately on entering the
church he presented himself to the priest, and received before all,
from the celebrant of the holy mysteries, the kiss of peace offered
by him. Robert, earl of Leicester, took his side, and some of
the better-disposed nobles of the kingdom, perceiving in him the
wisdom of God in executing judgment ; but all those who desired
to have liberty to follow their own rash devices shrank from him.
Hugh de Pudsey, treasurer of York, being absolved at Jarum1 from
his excommunication, was received into the .favour of archbishop
Henry. Also king Stephen's son, Eustace, having had a private
interview with archbishop Henry, laid aside all his hostility.
A.D. 1152. King Stephen and archbishop Henry became recon
ciled, and all hostility between them was laid aside on either part.
On the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul [25th Jan.], the said
archbishop was installed in his see with great pomp. He offered
upon the altar the grants (which he had recovered) of dignities,
liberties, and immunities, bestowed in former times by the popes
upon the church of York ; and he prohibited, under pain of excom
munication, any one from daring again to alienate them from that
church ; for archbishop William had pledged to the money-lenders
both the grants and many other valuables out of the treasury of the
church of York, to defray the expenses which he had incurred in his
journey to Rome. Then, having settled to his satisfaction the
affairs of the church of York, archbishop Henry very soon went to
Rome, and kept the feast of Easter [30th March] with pope
Eugenius, having been despatched as ambassador to him on the
business of the king and realm, of which the chief matter was, that
the king's son, Eustace, might be established by papal authority as
heir to the throne. At this time John, a priest cardinal, landed at
1 Perhaps Yarm.
A.D. 1153.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 29
Tynemouth in Northumberland, going as legate from the apostolic
see with palls sent to the Irish bishops. William, bishop of Durham,
received him with reverence. But he wrote to David, king of
Scotland, reporting himself and the cause of his arrival, and asking
from him a convoy to Ireland. And the king at that time, with his
army, established his nephew William, son of Duncan, in the lord
ship of Skipton and Craven, and stormed a fortress which had been
constructed by the enemy, and having expelled the garrison, he
overthrew it. The Scotch there committed the crime of plunder
ing churches, for which the king atoned by presenting to each
church a silver chalice. The king hastened to Carlisle on receiving
the lord cardinal's letter, sending on his chancellor to meet him at
the church of Hexham ; for the cardinal was nobly entertained, and
with him one of the Irish bishops. When the cardinal arrived,
about the feast of St. Michael [29th Sept.], the king and his son,
earl Henry, dutifully received him, and sought his favour by costly
and devoted attentions. Departing thence to Ireland, he distri
buted four palls to certain sees, and administered much correc
tion to that nation, who did not conform to the law of marriage ;
but this cardinal priest had come in the previous year to the king
of England, who refused to grant him a convoy, unless he would
give his promise that in this expedition he would compass nothing
to the injury of the kingdom of England. Resenting this language,
the cardinal returned to the pope, and the Roman court was on this
account ill-affected to the king. Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, a power
ful prince and very skilful in the administration of state affairs, died,
leaving his son Henry, duke of Normandy, heir to his virtue and
rank, who received also, in augmentation of his possession, the
duchy of Aquitaine. For a divorce having taken place, on account
of consanguinity, between Louis, king of France, and his queen
Eleanor, Henry took her in marriage with the aforesaid duchy, she
being the sole heiress of duke William her father.
A.D. 1153. The priest cardinal legate John, having accomplished
the object of his mission in Ireland, returned after Easter [19th
April] to king David, who was endeared to him by strong affection
on account of his devoted and reverential services. King Stephen,
repenting himself of his former want of courtesy, invited the cardinal
to come to him, promising that he would atone for his previous
offence. At this time died Matilda, queen of England, wife of king
Stephen, and was buried at the royal vill of Feversham, where she
had established a body of monks and their residence. After Easter,
her cousin earl Henry, son of David, king of Scotland, departed
this life, a prince of a gentle disposition, a well-mannered and God
fearing man, abounding in charity to the poor; he was buried
in the monks' monastery at Kelso, near Roxburgh, which David
his father had founded. King David, suppressing his grief at the
death of his niece, the queen of England, and of his only son, without
delay took his son's firstborn Malcolm, and placing him under the
care of earl Duncan, with a numerous escort caused this youth to
be^ conducted through the provinces of Scotland, and proclaimed
heir to the throne. Accompanied by his younger son William, he
30 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1153.
went to Newcastle, and taking pledges of all the chiefs of North
umberland, he subjected them to the young man's government.
Theobald, earl palatine, also deceased, nephew of king Henry and
brother of king Stephen, a founder of many religious houses, liberal
to pilgrims and the poor, a peaceful and upright prince, who had
rendered great political service to the whole realm of France.
Henry, archbishop of York, went to the church of Hexham, and
spent a considerable portion of the summer in its territory. He
made a complaint at Carlisle to king David, that his forests had
been ravaged by the king's men who were employed in working
the silver mines. Animated by zeal for good order, he laboured
when there to enjoin upon the canons of that church a very strict
observance of certain regulations. He also inducted regular canons
to the prebends of the church of St. Oswald at Gloucester, appoint
ing as their prior Unfred, a literate and monk of the monastery of
Lanthony. With regard to the prebends of the church of St. John
of Beveiiey, he also entertained the same design as] the deceased
archbishop Turstin ; which, however, his death speedily occurring,
he was unable to accomplish. In this year William, bishop of
Durham, of blessed memory, died on the ides of November [13th
Nov.]. Immediately upon his death, the clergy and laity of the
bishopric of Durham were involved in an accumulation of troubles ;
for the clergy made every effort to evade the mandates and injunc
tions of archbishop Henry, and to provide a bishop for themselves,
without incurring his condemnation, of which they stood greatly in
awe. Also, Roger de Conyers, who, in the room of his lately
deceased father Roger, held the rule of the castle and territory of
Durham, desiring, like a young man, to add to the pomp of his
military array, laid the men of the bishopric under heavy pecuniary
exaction, and was too often the cause of their being plundered
by others.
A.D. 1154. At Durham, on the feast of St. Vincent the martyr
[22d Jan.], prior Lawrence, Wazo and Ralph, archdeacons, and the
whole of the clergy, agreed in the election of Hugh, treasurer of
York, and by their emissaries, archdeacon Wazo, and Nicholas, prior
of Brinkburn, at once announced the event to archbishop Henry at
Beverley. But the archbishop, disapproving of the election, denied
the messengers access to him, and at daybreak celebrated a mass of
the Holy Spirit, and excommunicated the prior and archdeacons.
This rejection aroused great excitement against the archbishop, so
that on the first day of Lent [17th Feb.], the prior and arch
deacons of Durham, and Master Lawrence and prior Nicholas,
whom he had also excommunicated, assembled before the arch
bishop at York, demanding that they should be absolved, and con
tending that their election was firmly supported by the force of the
canons. The citizens of York, also, arose with them in complaint,
charging him with contempt of the royal prerogative. The arch
bishop in consequence hastily left the city, and never entered it
again to the day of his death; and not even at the entreaties of the
king's son Eustace, who came to him at Beverley, would he depart
from this determination. During these events Hugh, the bishop-
A.D. 1154.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM. 31
elect, abode in the south of England, and took no part in this
contention. And, indeed, the clergy of Durham, seeing that the
archbishop enjoyed the pope's favour, did not venture to call to
their support either the king or any one else. At length, after
many difficulties, they were absolved by aid of the recommendation
of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, to the pope's legate. In
the month of August Hugh came to York, and the archbishop
being opposed to him, the chapter did not dare to offer him counsel
or aid. He therefore went with the clergy of Durham to present
himself to the pope, furnished with recommendations from arch
bishop Theobald and other persons of high estimation in England.
But Master Laurence leaving them, embraced the monastic pro
fession at St. Alban's ; from whence, a few years after, he was
elevated by king Henry to preside over the monks of Westminster
on the deposition of abbot Gervase, son of king Stephen, who in
youthful wantonness had wasted the property of that establishment.
In the same year David, king of Scotland, worn down by infirmity,
died at Carlisle, whose memory is blessed through all generations.
There has been no prince like him in our days, devoted to sacred
duties, observing every day the canonical hours, and never omitting
to attend the masses for the departed. He was remarkable for the
wise and courageous spirit by which he skilfully restrained the
fierceness of his barbarous nation, for his frequent washing the feet
of the poor, and for his compassion in feeding and clothing them,
for that he founded the monasteries of Saltehou,1 Melrose, New-
bottle, Holrncultram, Jedburgh, Crag, and those situated on this
side of the Scottish sea, endowing them with lands and revenues
for their maintenance ; besides other good deeds which he performed
in Scotland and elsewhere. He bestowed his liberality moreover
on foreign nations, on pilgrims, on religious and secular. I might
proudly tell of the daily abstemiousness in food and vesture, of the
holiness and virtue oif his conduct, and the moral discipline by
which he rendered himself an example even to monastic men. He
reigned twenty-nine years; his corpse was taken to Dunfermline,
and interred in the tomb of the kings of Scotland, where also
rested his mother, the sainted queen Margaret. It is said that the
sea adjoining Dunfermline was chafed with tempestuous squalls of
wind, threatening shipwreck to those who attempted to cross with
the corpse ; but when the king's body was placed in the vessel, the
sea immediately became calm ; and wrhen the body was disembarked
on the opposite shore, the sea was again agitated by the renewed
violence of the storm.
After this the whole population of the land accepting Malcolm,
son of earl Henry, king David's son, as is the custom of that
nation, appointed this boy, scarcely twelve years old, king over
Scotland, in place of his grandfather David. Of him it may truly
be said, " With their seed shall good things continue, and their
children shall be a holy inheritance." [Ecclus. xliv. 11.] North
umberland was under the dominion of his brother William. King
1 Apparently an error of the scribe or printer for Kelsehou. See Fordmi,
Scottichron. i. 301, ed. fol.
32 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1154.
Stephen's son, Eustace, died, and Henry, bishop of Winchester,
strenuously exerted himself to promote the interests of duke Henry.
Through his mediation his brother, king Stephen, and duke Henry
concluded a stipulation for the establishment of peace, oaths being
given and received on each side. It was agreed between them that
duke Henry should manage the affairs of the realm, and be acknow
ledged heir to the throne after king Stephen; and that in all dis
puted points in the kingdom, Henry himself should yield to Henry
bishop of Winchester, as to a father. He also was to yield to
Henry the rule of the affairs of state, reserving to king Stephen's
son William, with the earldom of Warren, that which belonged to
him of hereditary right, to wit, two earldoms in England. To this
agreed all the nobles of the kingdom, and those who had opposed
king Stephen now submitted to him. An edict was immediately
promulgated by them for the suppression of outrages, the prohibi
tion of spoliations, the dismissal from the kingdom of mercenary
soldiers and archers of foreign nations, and the destruction of the
fortresses which, since the death of king Henry, every one had built
upon his own property. Justice and peace were thus everywhere
restored to the kingdom. Simon Saint Liz, earl of Northampton,
and Ralph, earl of Chester, died. Pope Eugenius died, and was
succeeded by Anastasius, a very old man. Bernard also, abbot of
Clairvaux, whom the anointing of the Spirit instructed in all things,
departed this life. Also Henry, archbishop of York, died at Bever-
ley, on the day before the ides of October [14th Oct.]. His corpse
was conveyed to York, and deposited in the burial-place of the
prelates of that church.
THE END OF THE HISTORY BY JOHN THE PRIOR, EMBRACING
A PERIOD OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS.
THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN, AND THE
BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.
BY BICHAKD, PRIOR OF THE CHURCH OF HEXHAM.
VOL. iv.
THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN, AND THE
BATTLE OP THE STANDARD.
HERE BEGINS THE HISTORY OF RICHARD, PRIOR OF THE CHURCH
OF HEXHAM, OF PIOUS MEMORY, CONCERNING THE ACTS OF
KING STEPHEN, AND THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.
A.D. 1135. IN the year of the incarnate Word 1135, sixty-nine
years after the invasion of England by the Normans, Henry, king
of England, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, was seized with
illness, occasioned by eating some lampreys, and died at St. Denis,
in a forest of Normandy called Leuns, on Monday, the fourth of
the nones of December [2d Dec.]. He had an illustrious reign of
thirty-five years and four months. His body, in compliance with
his own directions, was conveyed to England, and buried at Read
ing. Justice and peace, which had so long ruled with him,
perished in like manner with him both in Normandy and England ;
and the defence of justice (which at that time everywhere held
sole rule) being removed, in the place of peace and justice,
violence and rapine, slaughter and devastation, unheard-of cruelties
and endless calamities, tyrannized far and wide. After his death
all these evils raged the more freely and fiercely, in proportion to
the stern force and strict justice by which in his lifetime so many
had been overthrown, kept under, despoiled, disinherited, and
exiled. Seizing from this event the opportunity so ardently
longed for, each one hastened to avenge himself whilst it lay in his
power, to effect whatever mischief he could. At this period
William, surnamed Transversus, who by a grant from king Henry
held the lordship of Pontefract, (as the town is called,) having
received at that place a mortal wound from a knight named Pain,
died three days afterwards, having assumed the monastic habit.
Then Ilbert de Lacy, the son, regained the lordship of which king
Henry had deprived his father, Robert de Lacy ; and many similar
cases occurred at that time throughout England and Normandy.
In his youth the noble king Henry was distinguished for his honour
able bearing; he had frequently undergone the trial of adverse cir
cumstances, and was well practised in martial conflicts. He was a
man of counsel and foresight, sagacity and prudence, firm in mind,
courageous in spirit, truthful in speech, faithful to his promises,
resolute in his threats, steadfast in friendship, persistent in hatred,
patient in adversity, moderate in prosperity, fluent in oratory, stern
in justice, equitable in judgment, a bitter foe to his opponents, a
warm friend to his allies. Having, on the death of his brother
William, acquired the throne of England, he (by marvellous
D 2
36 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1135.
cunning) obtained from his brother, earl Robert, the dukedom of
Normandy, and managed the affairs of both states with great
ability, and, with a policy which cannot be described, he gained the
ascendency over all who were unfavourable to him. He put down
many men of high rank on account of their bad faith, and loaded
with high honours many of humble birth who proved honest and
loyal to him. He also revived the good laws1 and customs of
his predecessor and relative, king Edward ; and when they were
amended, as he saw fit, by his wisdom, and confirmed by his autho
rity, he caused them to be strictly and constantly observed by rich
as well as poor throughout his kingdom. Moreover, he visited
with severe punishment thieves and robbers, plunderers and evil
doers, forgers of base coin, and wild prodigals. Thus in his days was
a bright season of peace, and many monasteries were changed to
the profession of monks, and especially of the regular canons,
where previously there had been none. He indeed founded, and
with regal munificence endowed, two convents, one of monks at
Reading, where he desired to be buried, and the other of canons at
Cirencester, and appointed to both abbots of their respective
orders. The monastery at Reading he favoured with his patronage,
and in a conspicuous place he built a church of very beautiful
workmanship, and furnished it with princely revenues, and a nume
rous choir of monks. The convent of Cirencester he founded
four years before his death, and established there regular canons,
whom he provided with abundant supplies. He was distinguished
for his admirable bounty and due regard towards religious and
poor. None of his successors so strongly prohibited as he unjust
extortions in the realm, or so skilfully disposed all to quiet sub
jection and orderly behaviour; none so piously regarded the clergy,
or provided with such sumptuous beneficence for the poor and
needy.
He had two queens; the first, named Matilda, was a daughter of
Malcolm, king of Scotland, and by her he had one daughter, who
married first the emperor Henry of Germany, and afterwards
Geoffrey, earl of Anjou. By this queen he had also one son,
called William, who perished at sea, with the principal nobility of
England and Normandy. After the death of Matilda he married
a second queen, named Adeliza, the daughter of Godfrey, duke of
Lovaine, by whom he had no issue. But, through fornication and
adultery, he had several children ; for these two vices, sensuality and
covetousness, had too much the rule over him, and hence many
were depraved by his bad example. Being in Normandy a little
before his death, he partook of some lampreys, which speedily
brought on an illness of which he died, as was before stated. On
his demise, immediately there arose wicked men and sinners, setting
at nought all the rules of justice and of order, and fiercely giving
themselves up to devastations and slaughters, incendiarism and every
other form of crime. For (as we have said), in the commence
ment of his reign, he had given the people just laws and liberties,
1 See the " Leges regis Henrici primi," in Thorpe's Ancient Laws of England,
i. 497.
A.D. 1135.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 37
established them by charter, confirmed them by his seal, and
directed them to be laid up in his treasury at Winchester, as the
following document will clearly show : —
" Henry,1 by the grace of God, king of the English, to all his
faithful people, whether French-born or English, throughout all
England, wisheth greeting.
" Know ye that by the mercy of God, and the united will of
the barons of the kingdom of England, I have been crowned king
of this realm.// And forasmuch as the kingdom has been oppressed
by unjust extortions, I, from reverence to God and the love which
I bear towards you all, in the first place, acknowledge the freedom
of God's holy church ; so that I will neither sell it, nor let it out
to farm, nor on the death of an archbishop, bishop, or abbot, will
I receive anything from the domain, or from the vassals of the
church, until his successor shall be installed. And I hereby abolish
all the evil practices by which the kingdom of England has been
unrighteously oppressed, and some of those evil practices I here
specify.1! | If any of my barons, or earls, or others who hold under
me shall die, his heir shall not redeem his land, as the practice was
in the time of my brother, but shall relieve it by a just and legal
payment. And in like manner the vassals of my barons shall
relieve their lands from their lords by a just and legal pay
ment. And if any of my barons or other vassals shall desire to
give in marriage his daughter, sister, niece, or other relative, he
shall consult me thereupon ; but neither will I receive anything
from him for this permission, nor will I prevent him from
bestowing her in marriage, unless he desire to unite her to my
enemy. And if, on the death of a baron or other vassal, a daughter
shall be left an heiress, I will bestow her with her possessions by
the advice of my barons. And if, on the death of a husband, his
wife shall be left without children, she shall have her dowry and
her marriage settlement, and I will not give her in marriage with
out her own consent ; but if the wife be left with children, she
shall have her dowry and her marriage settlement while she keeps
her body in due order, and I will not give her in marriage without
her own consent ; and either the wife, or other of the relatives to
whom it justly pertains, shall be the guardian of the children's
property. And I order my barons to act in a similar manner to
the sons, or daughters, or wives of their vassals. From hence
forth I utterly prohibit the common coinage of money, which was
taken throughout the cities and counties, which was not in the time
of king Edward ; and if any one, either coiner or other, be appre
hended with base coin, let strict justice be done upon him. I
remit all the pleas and the debts which were owing to my brother,
excepting only my legal farms, and excepting those which were
contracted for the inheritances of others, or for those properties
which of right pertained to others. And if any one had made an
agreement for his own inheritance, I remit that and all those
reliefs which were contracted for rightful inheritances. And if any
of my barons or vassals shall fall sick, in whatsoever manner he
1 Collated with the copy extant in the work cited in the last note, p. 497.
38 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1135.
shall grant or by will dispose of his property, I confirm the deed.
But if dying suddenly by violence or sickness, he shall not grant or
dispose of his property, his wife, or his children, or his relatives
and lawful vassals, shall divide it for the good of his soul, as to
them shall seem best. But if he shall have been convicted of
treason or crime, he shall thus make satisfaction. If any of my
barons or vassals shall become amenable to the law, he shall not
give security of his money at the will of his lord, as he did in
the time of my father and brother, but he shall make satisfaction
according to the nature of his crime, as satisfaction was made
before my father's time, in the days of my other predecessors. All
murders perpetrated before the day of my coronation I pardon ; and
all which shall be henceforward committed, shall be legally atoned
for according to the law of king Edward. The forests, by the
united consent of my barons, I retain in my own hand, as my
father held them. To knights who do military service for their
lands, I, by my own gift, grant the lands of their own domains to
be free from all tribute and work; so that being freed from so heavy
a burden, they may so fully equip themselves with horses and arms,
as to be ready and prepared for my service and the defence of my
kingdom. I establish a firm peace in the whole of my kingdom,
and order it to be henceforth kept. I grant you the law of king
Edward, with the amendments made by my father with the advice
of his barons. If any one since the death of my brother William
has taken anything from me, or from the property of another, the
whole shall be immediately restored without a fine ; but if any
one after this shall retain any such property, he in whose pos
session it is found shall make heavy satisfaction to me.
" These are the witnesses hereof : Maurice,1 bishop of London,
William, bishop -elect of Winchester, Gerard, bishop of Hereford,
earl Henry, earl Simon, earl Walter Giffard, R. de Mountford,
Eudo the butler, and Roger Bigot. Farewell."
Let what has been thus briefly told concerning him suffice for
the present. If any one desires to know his acts more at length,
and how he conducted himself in his kingdom, he may find it in
the histories of the transactions of the English. Henry was suc
ceeded in his throne by Stephen, earl of Boulogne, his nephew, by
his sister the countess of Blois, and the brother of earl Theobald.
A. D. 1 136. Stephen, earl of Boulogne, being chosen by the nobles
of the kingdom, with the sanction of the clergy and people, was
crowned king at London on Christmas-day, by William, archbishop
of Canterbury. The beginning and course of his reign was over
whelmed with so many and so violent discordant commotions, that
how to describe them, or what may be their termination, no one
can yet know. The king himself, however, although straitened on
every side by calamities numberless and extreme, preserved ever a
firm courage and a cheerful countenance ; and, as if already sure
of ultimate victory, smiled at the threats and endeavours of his
foes, the artifices of the designing, the perfidy of traitors, and the
1 At this point there is a considerable variation among the several MS. copies,
See Thorpe, p. 502.
•A.D. 1136.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 39
loss of worldly possessions, however great, as if he did not feel
them, or counted them for nothing. This confidence and assurance
on his part filled his enemies with amazement and confusion, but
inspired his friends with energy, boldness, and comfort. He was a
man also of so much kindness and good nature, that his very
enemies were attracted to his side, and experienced from him a
degree of kindness beyond their expectation. From this cause he
succeeded in levying large masses of subsidiary troops, by means of
whom he effected his objects in Normandy and England. For
Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, (who had married king Henry's daughter,
the empress, as she was called after her marriage with the em
peror,) to whose son England and Normandy had been assigned by
oath, so soon as he was aware that Stephen was chosen king, devas
tated and laid waste many districts, and took and maintained, in
opposition to him, many fortresses in Normandy. Likewise also
died David, king of Scotland, the uncle of the same lady, who,
about Christmas, seized and held with a strong force five towns in
the province of Northumbria ; to wit, Lugubalia, called in English
Carlisle, Carrum, by the English called Wark, Alnwick, Norham,
and Newcastle ; but he altogether failed to take Bambrough. He
received from the chiefs and nobles of that locality vows and
pledges of fidelity to his niece, the empress. It was his design to
attack Durham also, but king Stephen with a large force arrived
there on Ash -Wednesday (which that year fell on the nones of
February) [5th Feb.], and remained there fifteen days. At length
a conference was held in that province, and a treaty being con
cluded between the two kings, Henry, son of David, king of Scot
land, did homage to king Stephen at York. With his father's
earldom of Huntingdon tHe king gave him Carlisle and Doncaster,
with all their appurtenances ; and according to the account of
some, who state that they were present at that convention, he pro
mised him that if he purposed to bestow upon any one the earldom
of Northumberland, he would first cause the claim which Henry,
son of the king of Scotland, might have upon it, to be fairly
adjudicated in his court. King David restored to Stephen, king of
England, four of the aforesaid castles which he had seized ; for the
fifth, namely, Carlisle, had been ceded to him, an agreement with
pledges being concluded by the subjects on each side. At the Easter
following [22d March], Henry, son of the king of Scotland, was pre
sent at the court which Stephen, king of England, held in state at
London, being there received with the highest honours, and placed
at table on the king's right hand. On account of this, William,
archbishop of Canterbury, withdrew from court, and some of the
nobles of England, enraged at the king, gave vent to their dis
approbation in the presence of Henry himself. David, king of
Scotland, was highly indignant at this, and on his son's return,
refused to allow him again to visit the king's court, though fre
quently invited.
In this year tiie Welsh ravaged a great portion of the land of
Stephen, king of England, and cut off by stratagem in their country
two of his barons, Richard Fitz-Roger and Pain Fitz-John ;
40 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1136.
they afterwards, however, made peace with him. In the same year,
also, Baldwin de Redvers, disappointed at not obtaining a barony
which the king had promised him, fortified against him his town of
Exeter ; but the king laid his land waste, and after a lengthened
siege took the town by storm, and having made him prisoner,
banished him from England and Normandy ; he took refuge, how
ever, with Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, and his wife the empress.
In this year also, Innocent, pontiff of the see of Rome, sent to
Stephen, king of England, a letter, in which he confirmed him by
apostolic authority in the sovereignty of England. The following
is a copy : —
" Innocent, bishop, the servant of the servants of God, to his
well -beloved son in Christ, the illustrious Stephen, king of the
English, health and the apostolic benediction.
" The King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose hand are all
the powers and rights of all kingdoms, in the unfathomable dispen
sation of his divine providence, changes times and transfers
kingdoms at his will, as saith the prophet, 'The Most High God
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and appointeth over it whomsoever
He will/ [Dan. iv. 17-] What blessings, what happy tranquillity,
what just severity, abounded in the kingdom of England and duke
dom of Normandy, under the rule of our son of glorious memory,
king Henry, have been made clearly evident since he has been
removed from earthly concerns. For being a favourer of religious
men, a lover of peace and justice, a kind comforter of widows and
orphans, a defender of those who were powerless to defend them
selves, since his decease (as we have been informed) religion has
been unsettled in the kingdom of England, no law enforcing peace
or justice has been available for the king's assistance, and impunity
has attended the most atrocious crimes. But, in order that such
dire ferocity may not continue to swell and rage against God's
people, the mercy of divine love has listened to the prayers of
the religious, and mightily set itself against such enormities ; and
has therefore brought it to pass, that by the united voice and com
mon consent both of nobles and people, you should be chosen king,
and consecrated by the primates of the kingdom, as is certified to
us by the letters of our venerable brethren, the archbishops and
bishops of those parts, and of those lovers of the holy Roman
church, the renowned king of the French and the illustrious count
Theobald, as well as by the declaration of trustworthy men.
Knowing that in your person the divine favour accords with the
choice of men so worthy, and knowing also that for the recom-
pence of a sure hope on the day of your consecration, you vowed
obedience and reverence to St. Peter ; and since you are known to
be descended almost in a direct line from the royal lineage of the
aforesaid kingdom, we, satisfied with what has been done in your
case, receive you with fatherly affection, as a favoured son of St. Peter
and of the holy Roman church, and heartily desire to retain you
in the same privilege of regard and intimacy by which your prede
cessor of illustrious memory was by us distinguished."
King Stephen, by these and other means, being established on
A. D. 1136.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 41
the throne of England, convoked by royal proclamation an
assembly of the bishops and nobles, and in conjunction with them
enacted as follows : —
" I Stephen, by the grace of God, chosen king of England by
the consent of the clergy and people, having been consecrated by
William, archbishop of Canterbury, legate of the holy Roman
church, and confirmed by Innocent, pontiff of the holy Roman
see, do from reverence and love of God acknowledge the liberty
of holy church, and vow due respect to it. I promise that in the
church or ecclesiastical matters, I will do or allow nothing of a
simoniacal nature. I allow and maintain that the judgment and
control of ecclesiastical persons and all the clergy, and the patron
age of ecclesiastical benefices, is in the power of the bishops. I
grant and ordain that the rights of churches confirmed by their
charter, and their customs used by ancient tenure, shall remain
inviolate. All the estates of churches, and the tenures which they
held on the day of the decease of my grandfather, king William,
I grant without bond or restriction, and exempt from all litigious
claims. But if there shall still remain anything held or possessed
before the death of that king now wanting to the church, I reserve
the restitution or discussion of the same to my own pleasure and
arbitration. I confirm whatever has been derived by them from
the liberality of kings, the bounty of nobles, the oblation, convey
ance, or transference of the faithful, since the demise of that king.
I promise that in all things I will pursue peace and justice, and by
all means in my power secure their continuance. I reserve to
myself the forests which my grandfather William, and my uncle
William the Second, made and held ; but all the others, which were
added by king Henry, I yield and restore without cavil to the
churches and kingdom. If any bishop, abbot, or other ecclesiastic,
shall before his death assign or bequeath his property in a reason
able manner, I grant a confirmation of the act ; but if he shall be
cut off by sudden death, it shall be assigned as the church may
advise for the good of his soul. While any sees are vacant of
their proper pastors, they and all their possessions shall be
entrusted to the management and charge of the clergy, or approved
men of that church, until a pastor be canonically appointed.
I totally prohibit all extortions, injustice, and false actions, wrong
fully effected either by sheriffs or others. I will observe good
laws and ancient and right customs in the hundreds, and in pleas
and other legal processes, and order and decree that they shall be
observed. All these things I grant and confirm, saving my royal
and lawful dignity.
:< The witnesses hereto are, William, archbishop of Canterbury,
Hugh, archbishop of Rouen, Henry, bishop of Winchester, Roger,
bishop of Salisbury, Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, Nigel, bishop
of Ely, Herbert, bishop of Norwich, Simon, bishop of Worcester,
Bernard, bishop of St. David's, Audoenus, bishop of Evreux,
Richard, bishop of Avranches, Robert, bishop of Hereford, John,
bishop of Rochester, Adelwulf, bishop of Carlisle, Roger the chan
cellor, Henry the king's nephew, Robert, earl of Gloucester,
42 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1136—
William, earl of Warren, Ralph, earl of Chester, Roger, earl of
Warwick, Robert de Vere, Milo de Gloucester, Robert de Olli,
Brian, son of the earl-constable, William Martel, Hugh Bigot,
Humfrey de Bohun, Simon de Beauchamp, the seneschals, William
de Albini, Martel de Albini, the cup-bearers, Robert de Ferrers,
William Peverel, Simon de Senlis, William de Albania, Hugh de St.
Clair, Ilbert de Lacy. Dated at Oxford, in the year of our Lord one
thousand one hundred and thirty-six, and the first of my reign."
By these and other methods, Stephen being speedily settled in
the kingdom of England, gave and granted (in the first year of his
reign) laws and customs of this nature to his realm, and faithfully
promised that he and his followers would most strictly observe
them. In the same year, in the month of August, king Stephen
crossed into Normandy, on account of the war with the earl of
Anjou. William, archbishop of Canterbury, died in the month of
November, and was buried in his own city.
A.D. 1137- In the following year, immediately after Easter
[llth April], when king David had levied his troops, he set out to
lay waste Northumberland, in violation of the treaty of peace.
But at the command of king Stephen, (who still remained in Nor
mandy,) the greater part of the earls and barons of England, with
a large force of soldiers, marched to Newcastle in Northumberland,
being prepared to offer resistance should he invade England. At
length, by means of envoys, a suspension of arms was agreed upon
until the following Advent [28th Nov.], and after forty days they
retired to their own quarters. On king Stephen's return from Nor
mandy in Advent, after having, on payment of a large sum, con
cluded a two years' truce with the earl of Anjou, the ambassadors
of David, king of Scotland, and his son Henry, speedily presented
themselves, holding out a withdrawal of the armistice unless he
would confer on Henry the earldom of Northumberland, but the
king gave no ear to their demand.
A.D. 1138. On the fourth ides of January [10th Jan.], king
David's nephew William, son of Duncan, with a portion of David's
army, made a nocturnal attack upon the fortress called Carrum, in
the king of England's territory, and having plundered the neigh
bourhood around, proceeded to storm the castle. Afterwards the
king himself and his son Henry arrived with a further reinforcement,
and applying the whole strength of their resources, attempted to
carry the town by various assaults with battering machines and
other implements, and after that laid siege to it for three weeks.
Yet he gained no advantage, but, on the contrary, every attempt
proved injurious to himself : for the knights and others who were
in the fortress, most ably defending themselves and the town, killed
his standard-bearer and many others of his men, under his own
eyes, and wounded many more. The king, perceiving the inutility
of his efforts, and the many and daily increasing losses to himself
and his troops, at length raised the siege, and rushed with his
whole force to devastate Northumberland. And then that exe
crable army, more atrocious than the whole race of pagans, neither
fearing God nor regarding man, spread desolation over the whole
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 43
province, and murdered everywhere persons of both sexes, of every
age and rank, and overthrew, plundered, and burned towns,
churches, and houses. For the sick on their couches, women
pregnant and in childbed, infants in the womb, innocents at the
breast, or on the mother's knee, with the mothers themselves,
decrepit old men and worn-out old women, and persons debilitated
from whatever cause, wherever they met with them, they put to the
edge of the sword, and transfixed with their spears ; and by how
much more horrible a death they could despatch them, so much
the more did they rejoice. The mournful lamentation of the
Psalmist then plainly received its fulfilment, " O God, the heathen
are come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they
defiled, and made Jerusalem an heap of stones/' (Ps. Ixxix. 1,) and',
indeed, the whole remaining portion of that psalm. It is said
that in one place they slew a multitude of children together, and
having collected their blood into a brook which they had previously
dammed back, they drank the mixture, of which the greater part
was pure blood. It is said, also, that in the church they shattered
the crucifixes with every mark of dishonour, in contempt of Christ
and to their own infamy ; they dug up the altars, and near them,
yea, upon them, they slaughtered the clergy and the innocent chil
dren. Wherefore we may again not unfitly exclaim in lamentation
with the Prophet, " O God, Thou hast cast us out, and scattered us
abroad ; Thou hast also been displeased, and hast not turned unto
us again," (Ps. Ix.) and so on as there follows. That infamous
army received accessions from the Normans, Germans, and Eng
lish, from the Northumbrians and Cumbrians, from Teviotdale and
Lothian, from the Picts, commonly called Galwegians, and the
Scots, and no one knew their number ; for multitudes uncalled-
for allied themselves with those above mentioned, either from love
of plunder, or opportunity of revenge, or the mere desire of mis
chief with which that region was rife. Overrunning the province,
and sparing none, they ravaged with sword and fire almost all
Northumberland as far as the river Tyne, excepting the towns and
the sea-coast which lies on the eastern side, but this they designed
to devastate on their return. A portion of that army also crossed
the Tyne, and massacred numberless persons in the wilds, laying
waste in the same way the greater part of the territory of St. Cuth-
bert on the west side.
While these things were being perpetrated by his followers, the
king of Scotland with a considerable force occupied Corbridge. At
this period a monastery1 of the Cistercian rule, founded the same
year on the property of Ralph de Merley, was destroyed, and very
many others were overwhelmed with the heaviest afflictions.
Wherefore the monastery at the mouth of the river Tyne, called in
English Tynemouth, in order to secure itself and its inmates in
this urgent need, paid to the king of Scotland and his men twenty-
seven marks of silver. In this raging and tempestuous period, that
noble monastery of Hexham, (although in the very midst of the
collision, and placed as it were on the very route of these ruffians,
1 Namely, Newminster, near Morpeth. See p. 12.
44 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND [A. D. 1138.
so as to be surrounded by them on every side,) yet on account of
the renowned merits of its tutelary saints, Andrew the apostle, and
Wilfrid, bishop and martyr, and of its other patrons, Saints Acca,
Alcmund, and Eata, bishops and confessors, and the other saints
who reposed within that church, — offered the most tranquil secu
rity to its people and those who took refuge in it, and afforded them
all a perfectly safe asylum from hostile assaults. Nevertheless, at
first the Picts rushed with impetuous haste to the river Tyne, on
which the town stands, and would have destroyed it, as they had
others ; but just as they were about to cross this river, two of their
number were killed by their own countrymen, and on this the
others retired in fear. Moreover, two of the same tribe of Picts
came by chance upon an oratory of St. Michael the archangel,
situated on that, the northern bank of the river Tyne, and attached
to the aforesaid church of Hexham ; thereupon they broke open
the door, and carried off what they found. But the vengeance of
God overtook them ; for, given up to the evil one, they were bereft
of reason, and, as the madness drove them, tore night and day, in
the sight of all, through forest and country, and both perished by
a horrible death ; the one first battering his own face with stones,
and then having his legs cut off by some one, the other drowning
himself in the Tyne. These events striking terror into some of the
army, they did not venture to make any further attempt upon the
possessions of the church of Hexham. Thereupon David, king of
Scotland, and earl Henry his son, guaranteed to that monastery, its
brethren, and all belonging to it, continued security from hostilities
on the part of themselves and all their followers ; and this they
confirmed by their charters, which are preserved in that church, the
sole condition being that they, on their part, should preserve the
peace towards him and his. Thus that noble church, founded by
St. Wilfrid, preserving its ancient and wonted lustre in this and
other storms of battle and contention, became a secure place of
refuge to numberless poor as well as rich, to whom it afforded the
necessaries of life, and the preservation of their property.
Meanwhile, about the feast of the Purification of St. Mary [2d
Feb.], Stephen, king of England, arrived with a great number of earls
and barons, and a large force of horse and foot. On hearing of this
the king of Scotland left Northumberland, and rapidly retreated with
his army to his own territory. He marched to Wark, and afterwards
lay in wait with his troops in some wilds near Roxburgh, with a
design to ensnare the king of England, who he hoped would take up
his quarters at Roxburgh. He directed the citizens to receive him
favourably, and to make a show of good faith ; but he also directed
that when he with his army should steal up by night, and a number
of soldiers whom he had placed in the town should make a sudden
sally and join him with the townsmen, they all should unite in
encompassing the king of England unawares on every side, and
should cut him off with all his men. But the Lord, who knoweth the
thoughts of man that they are but vain, brought to nought all these
devices. For the king of England crossed the river Tweed, and did
not proceed to Roxburgh, but devastated and burnt a great portion
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 45
of the territory of the king of Scotland ; and then, because many of
his knights declined to take arms and carry on the war, (for it was
now the beginning of Lent,)1 and also because the king of Scotland
and his men dared not give battle, and moreover, his own army
was deficient in supplies, he therefore retired with his troops
to the south of England, But, on the Friday of the week follow
ing the celebration of Easter [15th April], the king of Scotland,
so frequently mentioned, with his execrable army, once more
returned to Northumberland, and with no less ferocity and cruelty
than he had previously exhibited, he devastated first the sea-coast
of the county, which on the former occasion had been left undis
turbed, and all those other portions besides which anywhere had
escaped uninjured, and after that the greater part of the territory of
St. Cuthbert, on the eastern side, between Durham and the sea.
And both on this and the former occasion he in like manner
destroyed, together with the husbandmen, many farms of the
monks who served God and St. Cuthbert day and night. But
St. Cuthbert at length took pity on his servants ; for, whilst his
adherents were perpetrating these enormities, the king with his
retinue took up his abode near Durham, and there a serious
mutiny having arisen on account of a certain woman, the life of the
king and his suite was placed in jeopardy by the Picts. Whilst
under much apprehension from this danger, suddenly a false report
was spread that a large army was approaching from the south
of Britain ; so he with all his forces, leaving untouched their provi
sions already prepared, fled unpursued towards their own country,
and marching to Norham, which is in the territory of St. Cuthbert,
and laying siege to it, endeavoured to assault and reduce it by
various plans and devices. And while he remained there occupied
in the siege, he despatched his nephew William, son of Duncan, on
an expedition into Yorkshire, with the Picts and a portion of his
army. When they had arrived there, and had gained the victory,
on account of the sins of the people, they destroyed by fire and
sword the main part of the possessions of a splendid monastery
situated in Southerness, and in the district called Craven. Then,
sparing no rank, no age, no sex, no condition, they first massacred, in
the most barbarous manner possible, children and kindred in the
sight of their relatives, masters in sight of their servants, and
servants in the sight of their masters, and husbands before the eyes
of their wives; and then (horrible to relate) they carried off, like
so much booty, the noble matrons and chaste virgins, together
with other women. These naked, fettered, herded together, by
whips and thongs they drove before them, goading them with their
spears and other weapons. This took place in other wars, but in
this to a far greater extent. Afterwards, when they were distributed
along with the other booty, a few from motives of pity restored
some of them to liberty, at the church of St. Mary in Carlisle ; but
the Picts arid many others carried off those who fell to their share,
to their own country. And finally, these brutal men, making no
account of adultery, incest, or such crimes, when tired of abusing
1 Ash-Wednesday fell this year upon February 16.
46 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
these poor wretches like unto animals, made them their slaves, or
sold them for cattle to other barbarians.
The king of Scots and his men received these tidings with
great exultation, and applied themselves to the capture of the
fortress before-named with still greater energy. The townsmen at
first defended themselves with great vigour, but afterwards being
few, and many of them wounded, (there being only nine knights,)
despairing also of aid from their lord Geoffrey, bishop of Durham,
and being besides inexperienced in such struggles, they in dismay
surrendered to the king, while as yet the wall was in good con
dition, the tower very strong, and their provisions abundant. The
soldiers, consequently, and those who were in the town, incurred
great obloquy, because they had made a feeble resistance, and had
too readily given up the castle ; and not only were they censured,
but their lord also, because he had not garrisoned his fortress
according to his means, and as the necessities of the period required.
The knights retired with their men to Durham. So the king, having
captured the town, and taken the provisions which were there stored
up in much abundance, intimated to the bishop that if he would
desert Stephen, king of England, and swear fealty to his party, he
would restore the castle to him, and make good the damage which
it had sustained. This the bishop refused, and the king, therefore,
caused the town to be dismantled.
While these events occurred there, about Rogation l time, the
soldiers sallying from the town of Wark, seized under their walls
king David's supplies, which had to pass close by them, together
with the waggons and the attendants. The king, excessively en
raged at this, hastened with his whole force to besiege them, and
by batteries and all the means in his power he again proceeded
to assail it. But by God's blessing all his endeavours fell fruitless.
Many of his men were wounded and disabled, and some slain;
likewise, in the conflicts which before this siege had been fought
with the king's son Henry, some were killed, others wounded
or taken prisoners, and ransom received for them. Blessed be
God over all, who protecteth the righteous, but overthroweth the
wicked ! The king then, perceiving that his attempts upon the
town were useless, caused the crops to be consumed on the ground,
and then levying from his own country, and whencesoever else he
could, a larger force than ever before, he united his troops into one
body. Moreover Eustace Fitz-John, one of the barons of the
king of England, who held a very strong fortress in Northumber
land, called Alnwick, and had long secretly favoured the king of
Scotland, now openly showing his treachery, threw off his allegiance
to his lawful sovereign, the king of England, and with his whole
strength gave his aid to the Scots against the realm of England.
Leading with him no inconsiderable number of fighting men, he
marched with the king of Scotland to ravage Yorkshire, and had
made arrangements to give up to the king of Scotland and
his party another strong castle of his called Malton, situated in that
province on the river Derwent, not far from York, of which we shall
1 Rogation Sunday fell upon May 8.
A.D.1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 47
have to say more hereafter. King David then, consigning the
siege of Wark to two of the thanes (that is to say, his barons), with
their retainers, marched with most of his army to the town called
Bamborough, where having taken an outwork of the castle, he killed
nearly a hundred men. And then having destroyed the crops
around that place, and around William Bertram's town of Mitford,
and in many other parts of Northumberland, he crossed the river
Tyne. Entering the territory of St. Cuthbert, he there waited for
a portion of his army which had not yet joined him, and at his
summons the Picts, and Cumbrians, and the men of Carlisle and
the adjoining district, came to him without delay. The whole army
being thus assembled, he regarded it with unbounded exultation ;
for it appeared to him immense and invincible, and in truth it was
very large, consisting of more than twenty-six thousand men. His
heart and the hearts of his men were lifted up, and putting their
trust in themselves and their numbers, and having no fear of God,
they spoke boastfully and proudly. They both designed and
threatened to give to destruction not only Yorkshire, but the greatest
part of England ; for, with such a host, they did not imagine that
any one would venture or be able to resist them. These transac
tions occurred within the octave of the Nativity of St. Mary
[8 — 15th Sept.] ; and the king then passing by Durham, destroyed
the crops as far as the river Tees, and, according to his usual prac
tice, caused the towns and churches which had previously escaped
uninjured to be dismantled, plundered, and burnt. Crossing the
Tees, he commenced a similar career of violence. But God's
mercy, being moved by the tears of innumerable widows, orphans,
and victims, no longer permitted such wickedness to remain un-
chastised. For whilst he and his men were engaged in this course
of outrage, information of his crimes, his proceedings, and his
designs was conveyed to the men of Yorkshire, both by common
report and by sure intelligence ; whereupon the barons of that
province, to wit, archbishop Turstin (who, as will presently appear,
greatly exerted himself in this emergency), William de Albemarle,
Walter de Gant, Robert de Bruce, Roger de Mowbray, Walter
Espec, Ilbert de Lacy, William de Percy, Richard de Courcy,
William Fossard, Robert de Stuteville, and other powerful and
sagacious men, assembled at York, and anxiously deliberated as to
what course should be pursued at this crisis. Much irresolution
was caused by distrust of each other, arising from suspicions of
treachery, by the absence of a chief and leader of the war (for their
sovereign, king Stephen, encompassed by equal difficulties in the
south of England, was just then unable to join them), and by their
dread of encountering, with an inadequate force, so great a host ;
so that it appeared as if they would actually have abandoned the
defence of themselves and their country, had not their archbishop,
Turstin, a man of great firmness and worth, animated them by his
counsel and exhortations. For, being the shepherd of their souls,
he would not, like a hireling on the approach of the wolf, seek
safety in flight, but rather, pierced with the deepest emotions
of pity at the dispersion and ruin of his flock, he applied all his
48 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
energy and labours to counteract these great evils. Wherefore, by the
authority of his divine commission, and the royal warrant with which
on that occasion he was provided, he boldly urged them, by their
loyalty and their honour, not to allow themselves through cowardice
to be prostrated at one blow by utter savages ; but that rather they
all, with their dependants, should seek God's favour by true re
pentance, and turning with all their heart to Him whose wrath
these many and heavy evils proved that they deserved, they should
then act with the confidence and courage demanded in so pressing
an emergency. If they acted thus devotedly, trusting in God's
mercy, he assured them of victory ; for that infamous people were
directing their hostile endeavours against God and holy church
rather than against them, and therefore were fighting in a cause un
righteous, nay rather accursed. But their cause was a just and most
holy one, inasmuch as they were encountering peril in defence of
holy church and of their country ; and if so be it should please God
that this contest should not terminate without the loss of some of
them, yet, by those who were fighting with such an object, death was
not to be feared, but rather desired. He promised them also, that
the priests of his diocese, bearing crosses, should march with them to
battle with their parishioners, and that he also, God willing, designed
to be present with his men in the engagement.
At this period of perplexity one of the nobles of that province,
Bernard de Baliol, sent to them by the king of England, arrived
with a number of knights ; and, on the king's part and his own, he
greatly aroused their energy to the same effect. Thus incited by
the charge of the king and their archbishop, coming unanimously
to one decision, they returned to their own abodes ; and shortly
after again met at York, each fully equipped and armed for battle.
Having there made private confession, the archbishop enjoined on
them and the whole populace a three days' fast with almsgiving;
after which he solemnly absolved them, and gave them God's
blessing and his own. And although he was himself so greatly
reduced by age and infirmity, that he had to be carried on a litter
where need was, yet, in order to animate their courage, he would
readily have accompanied them to the field of battle. But they
compelled him to stay behind, begging that he would employ him
self in interceding for them by prayers and alms, by vigils and fasts,
and other sacred observances ; while they (as God would deign to
aid them, and as their position demanded) would cheerfully go
forth against the enemy, in defence of God's church, and of him
who was his minister. So he consigned to them his cross, and the
standard of St. Peter, and his retainers ; and they proceeded to the
town called Thirsk, from whence they despatched Robert de Bruce
and Bernard de Baliol to the king of Scotland, who was then, as
has been said, devastating the territory of St. Cuthbert. They very
humbly and courteously besought him that he would at least desist
from his acts of ferocity; and faithfully promised him that if he
wou d accede to their request, they would obtain from the king of
Kngland the earldom of Northumberland, which he claimed for his
son Henry. But he, together with his followers, with a hardened
A. D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 49
heart, spurned their solicitation, and disdainfully taunted them.
They therefore returned to their associates, Robert abjuring the
homage he had rendered him, and Bernard the fealty which he had
sworn to him on one occasion when he had been taken prisoner by
him. All the nobles, therefore, of that province, and William
Peverel and Geoffrey Halsalin from Nottinghamshire, and Robert
de Ferrers from Derbyshire, and other eminent and sagacious men,
made a compact amongst themselves, which they confirmed by
oaths, that not one of them, in this difficulty, would desert another
while he had the power to aid him ; and thus all would either
perish or conquer together. At the same time the archbishop sent
to them Ralph, surnamed Novellus, bishop of Orkney, with one of
his archdeacons and other clergy, who, as his delegate, should
impose penance and give absolution to the people who daily flocked
to them from every quarter. He also sent to them, as he had pro
mised, the priests with their parishioners. While thus waiting the
approach of the Scots, the scouts whom they had sent forward to
reconnoitre returned, bringing the information that the king with
his army had already passed the river Tees, and was ravaging their
province in his wonted manner. They therefore hastened to resist
them; and passing the village of Alverton [North Allerton], they
arrived early in the morning at a plain distant from it about two
miles. Some of them soon erected, in the centre of a frame which
they brought, the mast of a ship, to which they gave the name of
the Standard; whence those lines of Hugh Sotevagina,1 archdeacon
of York :—
" Our gallant stand by all confest,
Be this the Standard's fight ;
Where death or victory the test,
That proved the warriors' might."
On the top of this pole they hung a silver pix containing the Host,
and the banner of St. Peter the Apostle, and John of Beverley
and Wilfrid of Ripon, confessors and bishops. In doing this,
their hope was that our Lord Jesus Christ, by the efficacy of his
Body, might be their leader in the contest in which they were
engaging in defence of his church and their country. By this
means they also provided for their men, that, in the event of their
being cut off and separated from them, they might observe some
certain and conspicuous rallying-point, by which they might rejoin
their comrades, and where they would receive succour.
Scarcely, then, had they put themselves in battle array, when
tidings were brought that the king of Scotland was close at hand
with his whole force, ready and eager for the contest. The greater
part of the knights, then dismounting, became foot soldiers, a
chosen body of whom, interspersed with archers, were arranged in
the front rank. The others, with the exception of those who were
to dispose and rally the forces, mustered with the barons in the
centre, near and around the standard, and were enclosed by the
rest of the host, who closed in on all sides. The troop of cavalry
1 Some of the poems of this individual are preserved in the Cotton MS. Vitell.
A. xii., in which he is styled chanter and archdeacon of the church of St. Peter's
of York.
VOL. IV. E
50 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
and the horses of the knights were stationed at a little distance, lest
they should take fright at the shouting and uproar of the Scots. In
like manner, on the enemy's side, the king and almost all his fol
lowers were on foot, their horses being kept at a distance. In front
of the battle were the Picts ; in the centre, the king with his
knights and English;1 the rest of the barbarian host poured roaring
around them.
As they advanced in this order to battle, the standard with its
banners became visible at no great distance ; and at once the
hearts of the king and his followers were overpowered by extreme
terror and consternation ; yet, persisting in their wickedness, they
pressed on to accomplish their bad ends. On the octaves of the
Assumption of St. Mary, being Monday, the eleventh of the kalends
of September [22d Aug.], between the first and third hours, the
struggle of this battle was begun and finished. For numberless
Picts being slain immediately on the first attack, the rest, throwing
down their arms, disgracefully fled. The plain was strewed with
corpses; very many were taken prisoners; the king and all the
others took to flight; and at length, of that immense army all
were either slain, captured, or scattered as sheep without a shep
herd. They fled like persons bereft of reason, in a marvellous
manner, into the adjoining district of their adversaries, increasing
their distance from their own country, instead of retreating towards
it. But wherever they were discovered, they were put to death like
sheep for the slaughter ; and thus, by the righteous judgment of
God, those who had cruelly massacred multitudes, and left them un-
buried, and giving them neither their country's nor a foreign rite of
burial, — left a prey to the dogs, the birds, and the wild beasts, — were
either dismembered and torn to pieces, or decayed and putrefied in
the open air. The king also, who, in the haughtiness of his mind
and the power of his army, seemed a little before to reach with his
head even to the stars of heaven, and threatened ruin to the whole
or greatest part of England, now dishonoured and meanly attended,
barely escaped with his life, in the utmost ignominy and dismay.
The power of Divine vengeance was also most plainly exhibited in
this, that the army of the vanquished was incalculably greater than
that of the conquerors. No estimate could be formed of the
number of the slain; for, as many affirm, of that army which came
out of Scotland alone, it was computed by the survivors that more
than ten thousand were missing; and in various localities of the
Deirans, Bernicians, Northumbrians, and Cumbrians, many more
perished after the fight than fell in the battle.
The army of the English having, by God's help, with a small loss,
thus easily obtained the victory, and taken possession of the spoil,
which was found in great abundance, was very speedily disbanded;
and all returning to their homes, they restored with joy and thanks
giving to the churches of the saints the banners which they had
received. They had gone forth to this battle in their gayest array,
and with costly splendour, as to a royal marriage. Some of the
1 That is, those of Saxon or Norman origin, as distinguished from the Celtic
inhabitants of Scotland.
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 51
barons, with a portion of the army, marched to Eustace's town,
called Malton, mentioned above; and having destroyed the suburb,
they laid siege to it, because, during the fight, the soldiers had
sallied from it by orders of their lord, and set fire to many villages.
A truce of eight days was arranged, after which the siege continued.
The ground on which the above battle was fought was alone the
possession of St. Cuthbert, the whole surrounding district being
owned by others ; and this occurred not by design of the com
batants, but by the dispensation of Providence ; for it may clearly
be observed that Divine justice would not long allow to go un
punished the iniquity that had been perpetrated in the territory of
his holy and beloved confessor and bishop, but would speedily
visit it with wonted vengeance.
The king of England received the news of this event with ex
treme joy ; and, being informed that they had greatly distinguished
themselves in this affair, he created William de Albemarle earl in
Yorkshire, and Robert de Ferrers earl in Derbyshire. And it is
to be remarked that, about this time, fortune in a like manner
befriended himself and his supporters, both in the south of Eng
land and in Normandy, in their encounters with their opponents.
The king of Scotland added fresh force to the siege of Wark, upon
being rejoined by his son Henry, and reassembling his men, who
had fled from the fight separately, rather like bitter foes than com
rades ; for when these Angles, Scots, Picts, and other barbarians,
experience a disaster, those who have the power either murder,
wound, or at the least despoil the others, and then, by the righteous
judgment of God, they were cut off by their allies as well as their
foes. The king, upon hearing these facts, imposed upon his sub
jects heavy penalties and fines, and drew from them an immense
sum of money; at the same time, he bound them more strongly
than ever before, by oaths and pledges, never more to abandon him
in war. He then endeavoured by engines, new constructions, and
various devices, to gain possession of the town of Wark. The
townsmen, however, destroyed his engines, killed in various ways
several of the king's men, and wounded many, with a loss of only
one of their own soldiers, who was cut off and slain by a multitude
of the Scots who had sallied from the castle, and he, rashly con
fident in his own valour, was staying to demolish one of the
engines. The king at length, seeing all his endeavours ineffectual,
and damaging to himself and his troops, removed his engines
relinquished the assault, and enforced a strict blockade of the town,
much against the inclination of his followers ; for in consequence
of the great losses, difficulties, and destitution which they had there
endured, they were completely worn out by the protracted siege.
At this time certain lawless persons, whose sole study and de
light was to plan and perpetrate crimes, banded themselves together
in a detestable alliance, the more effectually to carry out their
designs of mischief. The chiefs and leaders of this abominable
fraternity were Edgar, the illegitimate son of earl Cospatrick, and
Robert and Uctred, sons of Meldred. Urged, therefore, by rapacity,
encouraged by impunity, and frenzied by passion, they overran
E 2
52 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
Northumberland like wolves, seeking whom they might devour ;
and crossing the river Tyne, they came upon the territory of St.
Cuthbert, but lighting upon nothing there which it was within
their power or their daring to seize, they returned empty-handed.
They then carried off all the booty they could obtain in a village of
the parish of Hexham, called Herintun [Errington]. Two nights
after these same robbers attacked another village called Digentun
[Denton] . This village was the property of the canons of the church
aforesaid, and was distant eight miles east of Hexham. Having slain
three of the canons' servants, and heaped many insults on their
prior, who had happened to arrive unexpectedly that night, they
marched off with their spoil. This mischance befel these canons
contrary to their expectation, inasmuch as the king of Scotland
had promised, as well for himself as for all his followers, (as was
before said,) the most absolute security to them, their vassals, their
effects, their parish, and expressly this very village.
About this period Alberic, bishop of Ostia, .arrived in these
parts, having been sent by pope Innocent to fulfil the office of
legate in England and Scotland. By birth he was a Frenchman,
by profession a monk of the Clugniac order, eminent for learning,
sacred and secular, of much experience in ecclesiastical affairs, of
remarkable eloquence and sound judgment ; and, what is far beyond
all this, he gave proof in demeanour and appearance, and in fact in
his whole conversation and conduct, of great goodness and piety. En
tering Clugny on his first profession, he, by his discretion and piety,
attained the office of sub-prior, where, in consequence, the whole
charge of the ritual observance came under his supervision. After
wards, in France, he for some time filled the office of prior in the
religious house known as St. Martin des Champs ; but inasmuch
as he was of great service, and in high esteem amongst his bre
thren, he was some years after recalled to occupy the position of
sub -prior at home. From this he was chosen to preside as abbot
over the monastery of Vezeley,1 and thence, by canonical election,
he was elevated to the bishopric of the church of Ostia. To the
bishops of this church pertained, by a dignity of long standing, the
privilege of consecrating the pope himself. Coming (as we have
said) to England, he afforded to all his faithful sons much satis
faction as to the condition of the holy mother church of Rome ; for
the sovereign pontiff above named sent by him his epistle to all the
children of the Catholic church. In it he related how the vessel
of St. Peter had toiled on heavily, having been long and violently
agitated by opposing billows, and thrown, shaken and shattered, on
the rocks of schismatics, and was well-nigh past hope of recovery,
since, unhappily, for eight years it had been exposed to havoc and
pollution, inexpressible and accursed, which had been inflicted
on it by that first-born of Satan, Petrus Leo,2 and his supporters.
But this there was no need to dwell upon, for it had been known
and lamented by almost the whole world. But the infinite mercy
1 A monastery in the diocese of Autun. See concerning it and this individual,
Mabill. Annal. ord. S. Bened. A.D. 1138, § 16.
2 Anaclet II., reckoned among the antipopes. See Baron. Annal. A.D. 1130, § 2.
A.IX 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 53
of Christ, though it seemed to slumber, and, for our sins, to pa^
no regard, nevertheless, moved at length and aroused by the
earnest prayers and tears of his faithful people, stilled by the
mighty word of his power the raging of the sea, the violence
of the winds, and the fury of the tempest, changing the storm
into a favouring breeze. He brought the church to rest in the
haven of peace and the joy of security. Moreover, He turned
the arrogance and glorying of all her enemies to prostration and
ignominy, and brought the necks of all who opposed her under
the yoke of her power. We may therefore justly exclaim with the
Psalmist, " O Lord our Governor, how excellent is thy name in
all the world, Thou that hast set thy glory above the heavens."
[Ps. viii. 1.]
Besides the epistle which thus spoke of the recovery of peace
and unity to the holy Roman church, and the restoration of the
apostolic power and dignity, Alberic brought also letters warranting
his mission, addressed by the pope aforesaid to the kings of Eng
land and Scotland, to Thurstin, archbishop of York, (the metro
politan see of Canterbury being at that time vacant,) and to the
bishops, abbots, and prelates of holy church in both kingdoms ; he
was therefore received by all with respect. He also brought with
him from the continent the abbot a of the monastery of Molesme,
with several monks ; and immediately on his arrival in England he
summoned to his side one other, named Richard, abbot of the
monastery called Fountains, a very religious man of great influence :
these truly wise and virtuous men were the constant companions
and witnesses of his life and course of action. In order that he
might avail himself of their advice and assistance in the transaction
of affairs, and that by their testimony the uprightness of his
conduct might be fully evidenced, he made the circuit of nearly
the whole of England, visiting the cathedral churches and the
monasteries of both clerics and monks, at each of which he was
received with due reverence. He at length reached Durham, where
at this time William Cumin, chancellor of David, king of Scotland,
was kept in confinement, having been taken prisoner in his flight
from the battle above mentioned. He delivered him at once from
his imprisonment, and restored him in freedom to his sovereign.
Then, accompanied by two bishops, Robert of Hereford and Athel-
wulf of Carlisle, three abbots, and several clergy, he came over the
moors to the monastery of Hexham, at which place he was en
tertained by the brethren with all fitting honour ; and with much
consideration, he cheered them under the injury which they had
recently sustained by the loss of their men and the pillaging of
their territory, as we have just narrated. Passing thence through
Northumberland and Cumberland, he arrived at Carlisle four days
before the feast of St. Michael [29th Sept.], and there met the
king of Scotland, with the bishops, abbots, priors, and barons of
his country. They, differing widely from the Cisalpine — and in
deed from almost the whole church — appear to have inclined in
1 Everard, abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Molesme, in the diocese of
Langres. See Gallia Christ, iv. 733.
54 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
a great degree to the schism of Peter Leo of execrable memory ;
but now, through the influence of Divine grace, they one and all
received with great veneration the missive of pope Innocent and
his legate. For three days, then, he was busily employed with
them on the affairs of his mission. He was informed that John,
bishop of Glasgow, committing to no one the cure of souls which
he held, had clandestinely, without leave, resigned his bishopric,
and, for no apparent reason, had become a monk at Tiron ; where
upon he determined in his case that a king's messenger, with
letters from himself and the king, should be sent for him, and in
the event of his refusal to return home, that sentence should be
pronounced against him ; and this was done accordingly. He also
negotiated with the king concerning the renewal of a peace between
him and the king of England, and on this behalf entreated him to
take pity on holy church, and on himself and his people, on whom
he had brought so many and great evils ; but he with difficulty
obtained a suspension of hostilities, to the extent that, excepting
the investment of Wark, he would send no force, and make no
aggression upon the territory of the king of England before the
feast of St. Martin [llth Nov.]. He also obtained this from the
Picts, that before the same period they would bring to Carlisle all
the girls and women whom they held captive, and there restore them
to liberty. They also, and all the others, promised him most faith
fully that they would not again in any way violate churches, and
that they would spare children and females, and persons enfeebled
by age and infirmity, and, in short, would slay none but those en
gaged in actual conflict. Moreover, the king, unsolicited, dis
coursed with the prior of Hexham, who had come with the legate,
concerning the loss sustained by himself and his brethren, which
he much lamented, and for which he promised full indemnification,
and also that he would compel his people to make amends for the
injury done to them and their church, and for the slaughter of
their men. And this he in a great measure fulfilled ; for nearly
all their property, and that of their vassals, was restored.
These affairs being thus arranged, the legate taking his departure
on the feast of St. Michael [29th Sept.], returned by way of Hex-
ham and Durham to the south of England, and related to Stephen,
king of England, what he had accomplished with David, king of
Scotland, and his people. The king of Scotland, a few days after,
learnt from some who had come out of Wark, that those in the town
were reduced to great extremity by famine ; and, in consequence,
he enforced a still more strict blockade. This indeed was the
case, for the garrison, from want of provisions, had killed and salted
their horses, and had already consumed the greater part of them,
but were, nevertheless, unwilling to surrender the town, and in
deed designed, when food altogether failed them, to sally armed
from the fortress, charge through the enemy, and defend themselves
to the last, unless in the meanwhile God should provide for them
some other resource. About the feast of St. Martin [1 1th Nov.],
William, abbot of Rievaux, came into that province, and, on the
part of Walter Espec, to whom, as before said, the town belonged,
A.D. 1138.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 55
charged them to yield it to the king of Scotland, for he was well
aware how wofully they were reduced by famine. The king there
upon, by the mediation of the abbot, gave them twenty-five horses,
and allowed them to march out with their arms ; and being put in
possession of the town, he speedily caused it to be dismantled.
The above-named legate, on his return, as before mentioned, from
his visitation of the sees and monasteries to the court of the king
of England, met there another legate, who had just arrived from
the sovereign pope Innocent. They consequently issued a sum
mons to Thurstin, archbishop of York, and all the bishops, abbots,
and priors of canons throughout England, to assemble at a general
council in the city of London, on the feast of St. Nicholas [6th
Dec.]. They met at the appointed time and place with Stephen,
king of England, and both legates entered with them upon the
discussion of the affairs of the church ; Alberic, however, took
precedence. The council was to the following effect : —
"In the year of our Lord 1138, the ninth year of the ponti
ficate of the sovereign pope Innocent the second, the third year of
the reign of the most pious and illustrious Stephen, king of the
English, nephew of the great king Henry, the synod of London
was held in the church of St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, at
Westminster, in the month of December, on the thirteenth day of
the month, at which, after the discussion of many questions, these
canons, seventeen in number, were issued and unanimously con
firmed. Alberic, bishop of Ostia, and legate in England and
Scotland of the aforesaid pope Innocent, presided over this synod,
where there were assembled eighteen bishops of various provinces,
about thirty abbots, and a countless multitude of clergy and laity.
The see of Canterbury was at that time vacant, and Thurstin,
archbishop of York, was out of health, but he sent thither William,
dean of the church of St. Peter at York, with some of his clergy.
The following are the canons : —
" ' Following the canonical institutes of the holy fathers, we, by
apostolic authority, prohibit the exaction of any fee whatever for
chrisms, for oil, for baptism, for absolution, for the visitation of the
sick, for the betrothal of women, for unction, for the communion
of Christ's Body, or for burial. Whoever shall dare to do so, let
him be excommunicate.
" ' We enact, also, that the Body of Christ be not received beyond
eight days, and be not carried to the sick except by the priest or
deacons, or, in extreme necessity, by some other, and this with the
greatest reverence.
" ' Likewise we enact, by apostolic authority, that at the consecra
tion of bishops, and the benediction of abbots, neither a hood, nor
ecclesiastical vestment, nor anything be demanded from the bishop
or his ministers ; and also, in the consecration of churches, no de
mand shall be made for tapestry, towel, or basin, or anything beyond
the fee allowed by the sacred canons.
' When any bishop shall procure the consecration of a church in
his diocese by another bishop, we, by apostolic authority, prohibit
any demand being made beyond that bishop's fee.
56 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1138.
'V No one shall receive from lay hands a church, or any ecclesias
tical benefice whatever. When any one receives investiture from
the bishop, we direct that he shall take oath upon the Gospels that
he has not on this account given or promised anything to any one
by himself or another ; and where this has been done, the presenta
tion shall be void, and both giver and acceptor shall be subject to
canonical judgment.
'"We further enact, that no one shall claim by inheritance any
church or other ecclesiastical benefice held by his father ; and no
one shall appoint a successor to himself in any ecclesiastical bene
fice ; and where this is done we decree it to be void, saying, with
the Psalmist, " O my God, make them like unto awheel who have
said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession,"
[Ps. Ixxxiii. 13.]
'" Clergy ordained by other than their own bishops, without
letters dimissory, we suspend from the functions of the orders
which they have received, and their plenary restitution shall rest with
the Roman pontiff alone, unless they assume the religious habit.
'•' ' Walking in the steps of the holy fathers, we deprive of ecclesias
tical functions and benefices all priests, deacons, and subdeacons,
married or living in concubinage, and, by apostolic authority, we
forbid all persons from hearing a mass celebrated by such.
" ' We decree the removal from every ecclesiastical function and
benefice of those clergy who practise usury, or follow filthy lucre, or
engage in secular business.
" ' If any one shall kill, imprison, or assault any cleric, monk, nun,
or any ecclesiastical person whatever, unless at the third summons
he make satisfaction, he shall be excommunicate. Nor shall any
one except the Roman pontiff give him absolution, unless at the
point of death; and if he die impenitent, his body shall not receive
sepulture.
" ' Whosoever shall seize by violence the property of churches,
whether moveable or fixed, we pronounce him excommunicate,
unless after canonical citation he make amends.
" ' We, by apostolic authority, prohibit any one from founding on
his estate a church or oratory without licence from the bishop.
' To these we subjoin the judgment of pope Nicholas, who says,
" Inasmuch as the soldiers of Christ differ from the soldiers of the
world, it is not meet that the soldier of the church should engage
in secular warfare, of which the shedding of blood must be the
result. In short, as it is disgraceful that a laic perform mass, or
administer the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, so it is
absurd and improper for a cleric to bear arms or engage in war ;
as the apostle Paul says, ' No man that warreth for God entaneleth
himself/ &c. (2 Tim. ii. 4.)"
'"We likewise approve the judgment of pope Innocent, commu
nicated to Victricus, archbishop of Rouen, that monks who after
residing in monasteries are advanced to the priesthood, should not in
any degree deviate from their former rule; in the clerical rank they l
ought to live as when they resided in their monasteries, and not to
abandon m a higher position the order which they have long observed.
A.D. 1139.] HISTORY OF THE ACTS OF KING STEPHEN. 57
"'By apostolic authority, we forbid nuns to use skins of vair
or gris, sable, marten, ermine, or beaver, to wear gold rings, or to
practise curling or braiding of the hair : whosoever shall be detected
in the violation of this law shall be excommunicated.
'"By apostolic authority, we decree due tithes of all first-fruits
to be paid : any one who shall refuse payment of these tithes shall
incur sentence of excommunication.
" ' We further enact, that schoolmasters who shall let for hire
the teaching of their schools to others, shall be liable to ecclesias
tical censure/ '
The election of an archbishop to the see of Canterbury (which,
as has been said, was then vacant) was agitated at this council, and
this matter was brought to a conclusion after the following Epiphany,
when the abbot of the monastery of Bee, Theobald by name, was
consecrated1 by the aforesaid Alberic, archbishop of that church.
At the same council the abbot of Croyland was deposed, and an
other substituted in his room, namely, Godfrey, prior of the church
of St. Alban the Martyr ; and Adam was elected abbot of the abbey
near Hastings, called Battle: upon both of these the aforesaid Alberic
bestowed the benediction. He also invited all the bishops and
many of the abbots of England to a general council, which the
sovereign pope Innocent was about to hold at Rome in the middle
of Lent. During the course of these proceedings, he was engaged
most discreetly and earnestly in treating with several persons, and
especially with the queen of England, respecting the renewal of
peace between the two kings. Finding that the queen's mind was
much set upon the accomplishment of this object, with her me
diation, and backed by her feminine shrewdness and address, he
frequently appealed to the king himself regarding this matter. They
found him at first stern, and apparently opposed to a reconciliation ;
for many of his barons who had suffered severe losses from their
variance, eagerly urged him on no account to make peace with the
king of Scotland, but boldly to avenge himself upon him ; but not
withstanding all this, the zeal of a woman's heart, ignoring defeat,
persisted night and day in every species of importunity, till it suc
ceeded in bending the king's mind to its purpose. For she was
warmly attached to her uncle David, king of Scotland, and his son
Henry, her cousin, and on that account took the greatest pains to
reconcile them to her husband. The legate, seeing the affair pro
gressing in this way, derived fresh confidence in his intercourse with
the king, from the better hope which had sprung up, and gave his
attention to his other concerns.
A.D. 1139. The legate, so frequently mentioned, having com
pleted his business in England, repaired to the coasts with his asso
ciates soon after the octave of the Epiphany [Jan. 13], and crossed
the sea on his return ; for he hastened to attend at the appointed
time the council of the sovereign pope before mentioned. To
represent the bishops and abbots of England, there went to the
same council these five bishops, Theobald, archbishop of Canter
bury, Ernulf, bishop of Rochester, Simon of Worcester, Roger
1 He was consecrated 8th January, 1139. Le Neve, i. 8.
58 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1139.
of Coventry, and Robert of Exeter, and with them four abbots;
for king Stephen would not send any more on account of the
troubles of his kingdom, which were then very great. Moreover
Thurstin, of happy memory, archbishop of York, sent thither
Richard, abbot of Fountains, a highly excellent man, of whom we
have spoken before, both on account of the council and of some
other private business which he had commissioned him to transact;
for it was generally asserted that he designed to relinquish his see,
and to appoint in his stead, as archbishop of York, his own brother
Audoenus, bishop of Evreux. But while this was in preparation,
his envoy died at Rome, leaving the matter unaccomplished, and
also his brother, who before his death had assumed the religious
habit of the monks at Merton, departed1 this life at that place.
The archbishop of Canterbury, with his pall, the aforesaid bishops
and abbots, when the council was over, and their business com
pleted, returned safe and sound. Soon after the aforesaid legate
had left England, peace was concluded between the two kings, by
means of envoys, on these terms : Stephen, king of England,
granted to Henry, son of David, king of Scotland, the earldom of
Northumberland, except two towns, Newcastle and Bamburgh,
with all the lands which he held before. But for these towns he
was bound to give him towns of the same value in the south of
England. He directed also that the barons who held of the earl
dom, as many as chose, might make acknowledgment for their
lands to earl Henry, and do homage to him, saving the fealty which
they had vowed to himself ; and this the most of them did. The
king of Scotland and his son Henry, with all their dependants,
were bound thenceforward to remain for life amicable and faithful
to Stephen, king of England. And to render their fidelity more
secure, they were pledged to give him as hostages five earls of
Scotland, the son of earl Cospatrick, the son of Hugh de Morville,
the son of earl Fergus, the son of Mel . . . , and the son of Mac ....
They were bound also to observe unalterably the laws, customs,
and statutes which his uncle king Henry had established in the
county of Northumberland. This agreement was signed at Durham
on the fifth of the ides of April [April 9], by Henry, son of the king
of Scotland, and their barons, in the presence of Matilda, queen of
England, and many earls and barons of the south of England.
This also was specially defined, that earl Henry could claim no
right either over the territory of St. Cuthbert, or over that of St.
Andrew in Hexham-shire, inasmuch as it appertained to the arch
bishop of York. Going with the queen to the court of king Stephen,
he found him at Nottingham. What had been done at Durham
being confirmed by him, he remained during the summer in
southern England, frequenting the king's court, and incurring great
expense in his service. In this year died Walter de Gant, who
had assumed the monkish habit at Bardney ; and Robert de Ferrers,
who was earl of Derbyshire.
THE END OF THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.
1 See Gallia Christ, xi. 575.
CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD.
CHRONICLE OF HOLYEOOD.
IN the year seven hundred and fifty-two from the foundation of
Rome, Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the forty-second
year of the emperor Octovianus Augustus. In the one hundred
and ninety-third year of the Olympiad, peace was proclaimed to
the world upon the advent of Him who is the true peace. At this
time in Rome, on the further side of the Tiber at the Taberna
Meritoria, a fountain of oil welled out of the ground, and flowed
with an abundant stream during the entire day; thereby intimating
the grace of Christ to the Gentiles. At that time also, a circle,
resembling the rainbow, appeared round the sun. Octovianus, the
emperor, reigned for fifty-six years.
A.D. 30. But in the fifteenth of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, our
Lord Jesus Christ commenced his ministry ; and in the eighteenth
year of the reign of the same emperor, Jesus Christ the Son of
God, having offered Himself for us, was crucified. Tiberius reigned
twenty-three years.
A.D. 538. There was an eclipse of the sun upon the fourteenth
of the kalends of January [19th Dec.], from the first until the third
hour.
A. D. 540. The sun was once more eclipsed, on the twelfth of the
kalends of July [20th June], and for half-an-hour the stars were
visible; from the third hour of the day until nearly the sixth.
A.D. 547- Ida began his reign, from whom the royal race of the
Northumbrians deduces its origin, and he continued to reign for
twelve years.
A.D. 565. Father Columba came from Ireland into Britain to
instruct the Picts, and erected a monastery in the island of lona.
A. D. 596. Pope Gregory, acting under God's directions, sent
Augustine the servant of God, and many other God-fearing monks
with him, to preach the word of God to the English nation. This
occurred in the fourteenth year of the said prince, and about a
hundred and fifty years after the arrival of the Angles in Britain.
A.D. 597. These teachers arrived in England in this the hundred
and fiftieth year after the arrival of the Angles in Britain.
A. D. 601. Pope Gregory sent the pall into Britain for Augustine,
who had now been made a bishop, and at the same time he
despatched hither many ministers of the Word, the chief and most
important of whom are Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Rufinianus.
A.D. 603. Edan, king of the Scots who inhabit Britain, marched
against Aelfred, king of the Northumbrians, with an immense and
62 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 603—
powerful army ; but he was defeated, and escaped with only a few
of his men. Nearly all his army was cut to pieces in that most
celebrated place called Dexastan, that is, The stone of Dexa. Aelfrid
fought this battle in the eleventh year of his reign ; that is, in the
first year of Phocas, who at this time held the sceptre of the Roman
empire. This same king Aelfrid reigned twenty-four years.
A.D. 604. The Eastern Saxons received the Christian faith
through bishop Mellitus, while their king was Sigebert. St. Augus
tine ordained two bishops, namely, Mellitus, and Justus; the
former, Melitus, to preach in the province of the East Saxons,
of which the metropolis is London ; the latter, Justus, he ordained
to that city in Kent which is called Rochester. At this time died
Augustine, that father beloved of God, upon the seventh of the
kalends of June [26th May], during the reign of king Ethelbert.
Laurence succeeded Augustine in the bishopric, whom, during his
own lifetime, he had ordained for this purpose, to guard against the
danger which might affect this infant church, were it deprived of a
pastor for even one single hour.
A.D. 605. The blessed pope Gregory died, after having most
gloriously ruled over the Roman see of the apostolic church, and
was translated to an eternal residence in the kingdom of heaven.
He governed the church during the time of the emperors Maurice
and Phocas ; and in the second year of the reign of this Phocas he
departed from this life.
A.D. 616, (being the twenty-first year since Augustine and his
companions had been despatched to preach the gospel to the nation
of the Angles,) Ethelbert, king of Kent, attained the joys of the
kingdom of heaven, after having ruled over an earthly kingdom for
fifty-three years, with the greatest reputation. He was the third
of these kings of the nation of the Angles who governed all the
provinces which are situated on the south of the H umber, by
which river they and the adjacent districts are separated from the
northern ; but he was the first of them who ascended into the king
dom of heaven. The first whose sway was so extensive was Aelle,
king of the Saxons upon the Humber ; the second was Coelin,
king of the West Saxons, who in their dialect is called Ceaulin ;
the third (as we have already stated) was Aethelbert, the king of
Kent ; the fourth was Redwald, the king of the East Angles, who,
even during the time of Aethelbert, consented that he should
exercise authority over his people. The fifth was Eadwin, the
king of the nation of the Northumbrians, that is, of that people
which is situated in the district which lies towards the northern
bank of the river Humber : he ruled with greater authority than
any of his predecessors had done over the whole population, both
of the Angles and the Britons, who inhabit Britain, with the sole
exception of the men of Kent. Moreover, he reduced under the
power of the Angles, the British islands, called the Mevanian
islands, which are situated between Ireland and Britain. The sixth,
was the most Christian Oswald, also a king of the Northum
brians, whose kingdom was equally extensive. The seventh, was
Oswin his brother, who for some time extended his realm in every
A.D. 633.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 63
direction; furthermore, he overcame the greater portion of the
nations of the Picts and Scots, who inhabit the northern parts of
Britain, and compelled them to pay tribute.
Ethelbert died on the twenty-fourth day of the month of Feb
ruary, after having been a believer for twenty- one years ; and was
buried in St. Martin's aisle within the church of the blessed
apostles Peter and Paul, where also queen Berta had previously
been interred. This Aethelbert was the son of Irminric, who was
the son of Oeric, surnamed Oysc, whose father was Hengist, who
had been invited into Britain along with his son Oysc, by Vorgitern.
After the death of Aethelbald, his son Edbald assumed the reins of
the government.
A. D. 620. The blessed bishop Laurence ascended to the kingdom
of heaven, and was buried on the fourth of the nones of February
[2d Feb.], in the church of St. Peter the Apostle, near his prede
cessor Augustine. After him Mellitus, who had been bishop of
London, obtained the see of the church of Canterbury; being the
third in succession from Augustine. Justus was still alive, and
governed the church of Rochester.
A.D. 624. Archbishop Mellitus, after having governed his church
for five years, departed to heaven during the reign of Eadbald, and
was buried with his fathers in the monastery and church of the
most blessed chief of the apostles, which we have so frequently
mentioned, upon the eighth of the kalends of May [24th April].
He was immediately succeeded in his bishopric by Justus, who had
been bishop of the church of Rochester; to which church he con
secrated Romanus as its bishop, having received authority to ordain
bishops from pope Boniface.
A.D. 625. Paulinus was ordained bishop of the nation of the
Northumbrians by archbishop Justus, on the twelfth of the kalends
of August [21st. Jul.].
A. D. 626. Eanfled, the daughter of king Edwin, and twelve
others of his household, were baptized upon the Saturday before
Pentecost [7th June].
A.D. 627. King Edwin, along with all the nobles of his realm,
and a large number of his people, received the faith and the laver
of holy regeneration, in the eleventh year of his reign, being about
one hundred and eighty years after the arrival of the Angles in
Britain. He was baptized at York upon the holy day of Easter,
being the day before the ides of April [12th April], in the church
of St. Peter the Apostle ; and this church he had hurriedly built
of wood, in order that he might be catechised and instructed so as
to be prepared for baptism. He also gave an episcopal residence
within this city to Paulinus, his instructor and bishop.
A.D. 633. Seventeen years after Eadwin had most gloriously
ruled the nation of the Angles and the Britons (during six of which
he had been the servant of Christ), Cedwalla, the king of the
Britons, rebelled against him, having received assistance herein
from Penda, a most energetic man, who was of the royal race of the
Mercians, who also had himself at that time ruled this said nation
for twenty-two years with varied fortunes. A severe battle having
64 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 633 —
been fought between them in the plain called Hatfeld, there Edwin
was slain, on the fourth of the ides of October [12th Oct.], being
then forty-eight years old, and the whole of his army was either
dispersed or killed. In this same battle also fell one of his sons,
named Osfrid, a valiant youth; the other, called Eadfrid, was
obliged to betake himself to king Penda, by whom he was afterwards
put to death, in violation of his oath, during the reign of Oswald.
Upon the slaughter of Eadwin, Paulinus returned to Kent.
A. D. 634. Archbishop Justus was removed into the kingdom of
heaven, upon the fourth of the ides of November [10th Nov.], and
in his stead Honorius was elected to the see. He came for ordi
nation to Paulinus, and by him he was ordained at Lincoln, (where
they met,) being the fifth archbishop of the church of Canterbury
in succession from Augustine. Pope Honorius sent a pall arid
letters to him, in which he repeated the orders which he had already
embodied in a letter transmitted to king Edwin ; namely, that when
the archbishop of Canterbury shall die, his survivor in the same
rank shall have the power of ordaining another bishop in the
room of the deceased, and thus it should not be necessary to
undertake the long and wearisome journey to the city of Rome,
so far distant by sea and land, for the ordination of an arch
bishop.
A. D. 640. On his departure from this life, Eadbald, king of
Kent, left the reins of government to his son Erconbert, and
he held them with the greatest reputation for twenty-four years and
some months. He was the first of all the kings of the Angles who,
by royal authority, commanded that idols should be abandoned and
destroyed throughout all his realm, and also that the fast of the
forty days [of Lent] should be observed; and in order that these
his injunctions should not be lightly disregarded by any person, he
added that fitting and proper punishments should be inflicted upon
the transgressors. His daughter Eorcangote, a child worthy of
such a parent, was a virgin endowed with many virtues ; and she
served the Lord in a monastery which had been erected within the
realm of the Franks by a most noble abbess called Sara, l in a place
called In Brigge. For as at that time very few monasteries had been
built in the nation of the Angles, many persons were in the habit
of going from Britain to those of the Franks, or into Gaul, for the
sake of leading a monastic life; and they also sent their daughters
thither, that they might receive instruction, and then be joined to
Christ their spouse. The greatest number were sent to the monas
teries of Brie, Chelles, and Andily.
A. D. 642. Oswald, the most Christian king of the Northum
brians, being then in the thirty-fifth year of his age, was killed upon
the fifth of August, in a terrible battle in which he had engaged with
the heathen nation of the Mercians and their heathen king Penda,
by whom his predecessor Edwin had also been slain. This place
is called Maserfeld in the language of the Angles. His brother
Oswin, a young man of about thirty years old, succeeded him in,
1 Read Fara, and see Beda, E. II. § 172.
A.D. 668.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 65
his earthly throne, and he held it for twenty-eight years ; but with
the greatest difficulty.
A.D. 644. The most revered father Paulinus passed to the Lord
upon the sixth of the ides of October [10th Oct.], being at this
time bishop of the city of Rochester, but he had formerly been at
York. He held the episcopate for nineteen years, two months, and
twenty-one days ; and he was buried in the sacristy of the blessed
apostle Andrew. To succeed him archbishop Honorius ordained
Ytamar, a native of Kent, but equal to any of his predecessors in life
and learning.
A.D. 651. King Oswin was slain at a place called Ingetlingum,
upon the thirteenth of the kalends of September [20th Aug.], in
the ninth year of his reign. Bishop Aidan survived the death
of this king, whom he loved so dearly, no longer than twelve days,
having been removed from the world on the day before the kalends
of September [31st Aug.], that he might receive from the Lord
the eternal reward of his labours.
A. D. 653. Having finished his course, archbishop Honorius
departed from this life on the day before the kalends of October
[30th Sept.] ; and after the see had been unoccupied for one year
and six months, Deusdedit, of the nation of the West Saxons, was
elected the sixth archbishop of the church of Canterbury. He was
ordained by Ytamar, bishop of the church of Rochester, who came
to Canterbury for the purpose. This took place upon the seventh
of the kalends of April [26th March] ; and he governed the church
for nine years, four months, and two days. Upon his death, Ytamar
consecrated in his stead Damian, a South Saxon by birth. The
Middle Angles (that is to say, the Angles who inhabit the midland
districts), along with their prince Peada, the son of king Penda,
received the true faith and sacraments.
A. D. 655. Penda died, and the Mercians became Christians.
A. D. 659. Wulfhere, the son of Penda, succeeded to the king
dom of the Mercians, and he reigned seventeen years.
A.D. 664. There was an eclipse of the sun on the second of
May, about the tenth hour of the day. Also, in this year, there
broke out a sudden pestilence, which first devastated the southern
districts of Britain, and then laid hold upon the province of the
Northumbrians, which it ravaged far and wide for a considerable time
with great fierceness, and killed a large number of the inhabitants.
This plague was equally destructive in the island of Ireland. Deus
dedit, the sixth archbishop of Canterbury, died on the day before the
ides of July [14th July] ; and upon the same month and day died
Erchonbert, king of Kent, leaving his royal seat to his son Etbert,
which that individual occupied for nineteen years. Colman and his
friends returned home, and Cedda and Wilfrid were ordained bishops
of the Northumbrians, while the church of Canterbury continued
unoccupied for no small time.
A. D. 668. The monk Theodore was ordained bishop of Can
terbury by pope Vitalian, upon Sunday, the seventh of the kalends of
April [26th March], and he and his companions were despatched
upon their mission upon the sixth of the ides of June [8th June],
VOL. IV. F
66 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 668—
Theodore was a native of Tarsus inCilicia, a man well versed in secular
and divine literature, skilled in Greek and Latin, of an excellent dis
position, and venerable for his age, being sixty-six years old. He
reached his church on the second year after his ordination, on Sunday
the sixth of the kalends of June [27th May], and he occupied it
for twenty- one years, three months, and twenty-six days.
A.D. 670, (being the second year since Theodore's arrival in
Britain,) Oswin, king of the Northumbrians, fell ill of the sickness
of which he died, being in the fifty-eighth year of his age. At this
time so attached was he to the instruction of the Roman and
apostolic see, that he had resolved to go to Rome, and to end his
days at the holy places, if he had recovered from this sickness ;
and he had offered no small sum of money to bishop Wilfrid, if
he would become his guide upon the journey. He died upon the
fifth of the kalends of March [25th Feb.], leaving his son Egfrid
as the heir of his kingdom.
A. D. 673. Egbert, king of Kent, died in the month of July, and
his brother Lothere succeeded him in the kingdom, which he
retained for eleven years and seven months. A synod was held at
Hereford on the twenty-fourth of September, in the presence of
king Egfrid, and under the presidency of archbishop Theodore.
A.D. 675. Wolf here, king of the Mercians, died, after having
reigned seventeen years ; and he left the government to his brother
Ethilerd.
A. D. 676. Ethelred, king of the Mercians, at the head of a savage
army devastated Kent, and defiled the monasteries, without any
regard to the fear of God. In this same year Cuthbert, that
servant of the Lord, went to Fame, and continued to be His soldier
during eleven years with the most wonderful devotion.
A.D. 678, (the eighth year of the reign of Egfrid,) a star, named
a cornet, appeared during the month of August; and it continued
for three months, becoming visible in the morning, and exhibiting
a lofty column of brilliant flame. In this year, also, there arose a
disagreement between king Egfrid and the most reverend bishop
Wilfrid, in consequence of which the bishop was expelled from his
episcopal see, and in his stead Theodore, the archbishop, ordained
Bosa, Eatha, and Eaded as bishops.
A. D. 679, (being the ninth year of the reign of Egfrid,) a great
battle was fought between Egfrid and Ethelred the king of the
Mercians near the river Trent, in which fell Elwin, the brother of
king Egfrid, a youth of about eighteen years old, much beloved by
both of the provinces. King Eailred had married his sister, who was
called Ostridh. When it now appeared that a bitter spirit of hostility
had sprung up between those kings and their fierce people, Theodore,
that archbishop beloved of God, acting under His instigation, so
entirely extinguished the flames which had thus broken out, that he
tranquillized the kings and people, and the life of none was required
in revenge for the slaughter of the deceased, compensation for whose
death was made by the payment only of a large sum of money.
The treaty of peace then entered into continued for long between
these sovereigns and their realms.
-A.D. 685.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 67
A.D. 680. A synod, concerning the catholic faith, wa<3 held in
the plain of Hetfeld, under the presidency of archbishop Theodore,
in which John, a Roman abbot, was present, upon the fifteenth
of the kalends of October [17th Sept.], in the tenth year of Egfrid,
king of the Humbrians, in the sixth of Etilred, king of the Mer
cians, in the seventeenth of Aldulf, king of the East Anglians, and
in the seventh of Lothaire, king of the men of Kent. In this year,
also, Hilda, the religious handmaid of Christ, the abbess of the
monastery which is called Streneshalch, departed from this world,
to receive the reward of the life which is in heaven, which she had
in many respects anticipated while yet in the flesh. She died on
the fifteenth of the kalends of December [17th Nov.], being sixty-
six years old, — a period which may be divided into two equal por
tions, thirty-three of which she spent in the greatest renown, clad
in the robes of a laywoman ; the remainder she dedicated to the
Lord, spending them in the yet more noble conversation of a nun.
She was of illustrious descent, being the daughter of Hereric, the
nephew of king Edwin.
A.D. 684. Ecgfrid, king of the Northumbrians, having despatched
an army to Ireland, under duke Bercht, miserably destroyed that
harmless people, who were always most friendly to the nation of
the Angles. The destruction was so complete, that not even the
churches or the monasteries were spared.
A.D. 685. As king Egfrid was rashly leading his army to de
vastate the province of the Picts, — against the earnest persuasion
of many of his friends, and especially of Cuthbert of blessed
memory, who had lately been ordained bishop, — the enemy pre
tended that they fled ; and the king, being thus tempted to enter
into the fastnesses of inaccessible mountains, was slain, along with
a large proportion of the troops which he had taken with him, upon
the thirteenth of the kalends of June [20th May], being in the
fortieth year of his age, and the fifteenth of his reign. Egfrid was
succeeded in his kingdom by Alfrid, a man admirably skilled in the
Scriptures, who is said to have been his brother, and the son of
king Oswin : he nobly restored the ruined kingdom to its former
condition, although compelled to reduce it within narrower limits.
In this year also, Lotere, king of Kent, died, after having reigned
twelve years, on the eighth of the ides of February [6th Feb.] ; he
succeeded his brother Egbert, who had reigned nine years. He had
been wounded in a battle against the South Saxons, whom Edric,
the son of Egbert, had led against him ; and he died as his wounds
were being dressed. The same Edric reigned after him for a year
and a half. After his death, kings of doubtful right or of foreign
descent troubled the kingdom, until the lawful king, Wichtred, the
son of Egbert, was established in the realm ; and he, by his care in
secular matters as well as spiritual, released his people from ex
ternal invasion. In the same year in which king Egfrid died, he
had caused that the holy and venerable Cuthbert should be ordained
as a bishop for the church of Lindisfarne. He was ordained at
York by Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, on the seventh of
the kalends of April [26th March], being Easter Sunday, there
F 2
68 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 685—
having congregated for his consecration seven bishops ; king
Egfrid himself was present, this being the fifteenth year of his
reign.
A.D. 687. Wilfrid, who had been expelled from his see by king
Egfrid, after having undergone a long exile, was admitted to the
church of Hexham ; and the holy Cuthbert, knowing in his spirit
that the day of his departure was at hand, returned to his island
and his resting-place. On the fourth day of the first week in Lent
[27th Feb.], his sickness began; and on the fourth day of the week
after Mid-Lent Sunday [20th March], he departed to the Lord,
worn out by a disease which had continued incessantly for three
whole weeks. He died during the time of the nocturnal prayers,
upon the thirteenth of the kalends of April [20th March], on the
first day of the moon's age, in the third year of his episcopate, after
having been an anchorite for twelve years and a monk for thirty-
four, and in the fifty-fourth year after king Oswald and bishop Aidan
had established a bishop's seat in the island of Lindisfarne. His
body was removed into the church of the blessed apostle Peter,
which is in the same island, and there was placed at the right side
of the altar within a stone coffin.
A.D. 688. In this, the third year of king Alfrid, Cadwalla, the
king of the West Saxons, after having energetically governed his
people for two years, abandoned his kingdom for the sake of the
Lord, the King Eternal, and went to Rome. His desire was to
obtain the special privilege of being washed in the fountain of
baptism at the shrine of the blessed apostles ; for he had learned
that by baptism alone is opened up for the human race an entrance
to the life in heaven. His hope, furthermore, was this : that after
his baptism, he should be delivered from the bonds of the flesh,
and, while yet pure, should pass away to the joys of heaven. By
the Lord's help, each of these his wishes was fulfilled ; for on his
arrival there, during the pontificate of Sergius, he was baptized, on
the holy Saturday before Easter ; and while yet in his white bap
tismal robes, he was seized with illness, by which he was liberated
from the body, and associated with the blessed ones in the kingdom
of heaven, upon the twelfth of the kalends of May [20th April].
He was thirty years old ; and at this time Justinian was emperor,
and in the fourth year of his consulate. Yna, one of the kingly
family, succeeded him in the kingdom, and he governed it for
thirty-seven years.
A.D. 690. Theodore, the archbishop, of blessed memory, being
now an old man and full of days (for he was eighty-eight years old),
died ; to whom a revelation had been made in a dream as to the
length of his life, and of this he frequently spoke to his friends. He
had occupied his see for twenty-two years ; and he was buried in
the church of St. Peter, in which are interred the bodies of all the
archbishops of Canterbury. Of him, and of his companions in the
archbishopric, it may well and truly be said, that " their bodies are
buried in peace, and their names shall live from generation to
generation." [Ecclus. xliv. 13.] For I scruple not to affirm,
that the English churches attained a greater degree of spiritual
A.D. 716.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 69
perfection under the government of this individual than they had
ever reached before his time.
A.D. 692. Theodore was succeeded in the episcopate by Bercht-
wald, who had been abbot in the monastery named Racuulf, which
is situated on the northern bank of the river Glenlade, at its
mouth : he also was a man well versed in the knowledge of the
Scriptures, and thoroughly acquainted with the rules by which
churches and monasteries are governed, yet by no means to be
compared with his predecessor. He was elected to the see on the
first of July, while Kent was governed by Wichtred and Suefhard.
He was ordained in the following year by Godwin, the metropolitan
bishop of Gaul, upon the thb'd of the kalends of July [29th
June], being Sunday ; and he took his seat [in his cathedral] upon
Sunday, the second of the kalends of September [31st Sept.].
Among the many bishops whom he ordained was Tobias, who suc
ceeded as bishop to the church of Rochester, upon the death of
Gefmund ; he was a man admirably learned in the Latin, Greek,
and Saxon languages and literature. Wilfrid was expelled for the
second time by king Alfrid, and was in exile for thirteen years. He
went first to Rome, and on his return thence, he spent some time
in the region of the Middle Angles : after having been a wanderer
for a long time, he again visited Rome ; and when he returned to
Britain, he visited the districts of the South Saxons, who were still
addicted to the rites of heathendom, and in that land he taught the
gospel for five years.
A.D. 703. After a reign of thirty years over the Mercian nation,
Aethelred became a monk, and resigned the kingdom to Coenred.
A.D. 705. Alfrid, king of the Northumbrians, died, before the
full completion of the twentieth year of his reign, and was suc
ceeded in the government by his son Osred, a boy of about eight
years old. After he had reigned eleven years, Wilfrid was restored
in peace to his see, and the remaining four years of his reign (that
is, until the day of his death) passed peaceably. And thus [Wilfrid,]
that most excellent bishop and venerable conqueror, ascended before
the throne of God, having been a bishop for forty-five years ; and
his body having been conveyed to his own monastery, called Ripon,
was there buried in the church of the blessed apostle Peter, with
the honour due to such an illustrious bishop.
A.D. 708, (being the fourth year of the reign of king Osred,)
Coenred, who for some time had held the sceptre of the kingdom
of the. Mercians with great reputation, resigned it with greater ;
for having proceeded to Rome, he there received the tonsure
during the popedom of Constantine, and having become a monk,
continued until the last day of his life at the threshold of the
apostles, in prayers, fastings, and almsgivings. He was succeeded
in his kingdom by Coelred, the son of king Aethelred, who had
held the same realm before the accession of Coenred.
A.D. 711. Bertfriht, the prefect, engaged in battle with the Picts.
A.D. 716. Osred, king of the Northumbrians, was killed, and
Coenred succeeded, and Ceolred the king of the Mercians died,
and Egbert (that man of the Lord) set the monks of lona right as
70 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 725 —
to the catholic time of holding Easter, and the ecclesiastical
tonsure.
A.D. 725, (being the seventh year of king Osric, the successor
of Coenred,) Wihtred the son of Egbert, the king of Kent, died
upon the ninth of the kalends of May [23d April], leaving as
heirs to his kingdom (which he had held for thirty-four years and
a-half) his three sons, namely, Aelbert, Eadbert, and Alfric.
In the year following, Tobias, the bishop of the church of
Rochester, died, a most learned man, as we have already stated ;
for he had been the scholar of those teachers of blessed memory,
archbishop Theodore, and abbot Adrian ; wherefore he was so
skilled, not only in ecclesiastical and general literature, but also in
the Greek and Latin languages, that they were as familiar to him
as his own native tongue. He was buried in the aisle of St. Paul
the Apostle, which he had built as his own place of interment,
within the church of St. Andrew. He was succeeded in his
episcopal office by Aldulf, who was consecrated by archbishop
Berhtwald.
A.D. 729. Two comets appeared near the sun, which struck
great terror into the spectators. One of them went before the sun
at his rising, and the other followed him at his setting, presaging,
as it were, fearful slaughter to both east and west. Or it may be
understood thus ; one preceded the commencement of the day,
the other that of the night, intimating that ills were impending by
both day and night over the human race. The flame extended
towards the north, as if it were about to set that region of the
heavens on fire. They appeared in the month of January, and
continued visible for nearly two weeks. At this time the Saracens,
a fearful pest, devastated Gaul with a miserable slaughter ; but not
long after they were deservedly punished for their treachery in the
same province. In this year that man of God, Egbert, departed
to the Lord, upon the eighth of the kalends of May [24th April],
being Easter-day, and shortly after Easter, that is to say, on the
seventh of the ides of May [9th May], Osric, the king of the
Northumbrians, died, after having appointed Ceonulf as his suc
cessor in the kingdom, who was the brother of his own predecessor
king Coenred. Osric reigned eleven years. The commencement
and progress of the reign of Ceonulf were marked by such an
abundance of hostile proceedings, that it is impossible as yet to
affirm what shall be their issue.
A.D. 731. Archbishop Berhtwald, exhausted by a long extended
old age, died upon the fifth of the ides of January [9th Jan.],
having ruled his diocese for thirty-seven years, six months, and
fourteen days. In the same year Tatwine, of the province of the
Mercians, was made archbishop. He was consecrated in the city
of Canterbury, by those venerable men Daniel, bishop of Win
chester, Igwald, bishop of London, and Aldulf, bishop of Rochester,
upon Sunday the tenth of June : he was a man remarkable for his
religion and prudence, and admirably versed in sacred literature.
This was about the two hundred and eighty-fifth year since the
arrival of the Angles in England.
A. D. 1078.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 71
A.D. 733. 1 An eclipse of the sun occurred on the eighteenth of
the kalends of September [15th Aug.], about the third hour of the
day, to such an extent that nearly the whole surface of the sun
appeared to be covered like as with a black and horrible shield.
A.D. 734. The moon was covered with a colour like blood for
nearly a whole hour, at cockcrowing upon the second of the
kalends of February [31st Jan.], and after a darkness had suc
ceeded, she regained her usual brightness. In this same year
archbishop Tatwine, and Beda the doctor, ascended to the heavenly
mansions.
A.D. 1065. St. Edward the king exchanged a praiseworthy life
for a happy death, upon the vigil of the Epiphany [5th Jan.], after
having reigned twenty-three years, six months, and twenty-seven
days : he was the son of king Aethelred and of Emma, the daughter
of Richard, duke of Normandy, and the brother of Edmund Iron
side, by the father's side. On the second day afterwards, Harold
was consecrated king.
A.D. 1066. In the following year William, earl of Normandy,
came into England, and attacked this king Harold ; and upon the
second of the ides of October [14th Oct.], he defeated him and
his army at Hastinge ; and on the Nativity of our Lord next
ensuing, he was elevated to the throne.
A.D. 1068.2 There was a battle at Bledun.
A.D. 1069. In the eighty-third year after the body of the blessed
Cuthbert had been conveyed to Durham by bishop Aldun, and in
the third year of the reign of king William, that same William,
the king of the English, appointed one Robert, surnamed Cumin,
as earl over the people of the Northumbrians ; and he, having
arrived at Durham with twelve hundred men, and conducting him
self with violence against the inhabitants, was there slain with all
his followers, excepting only one single individual, (who escaped
although wounded,) upon the fifth of the kalends of February
[28th Jan.]. Hereupon the king was very angry, and despatched
one of his nobles along with an army to avenge the murder. Upon
the arrival of the expedition at Alvertun, and when they were
preparing to advance to Durham on the following morning, there
arose such a dense mist that they could scarcely see each other, and
were utterly unable to discover the road. Wondering what this
might betoken, one of them told the others that the inhabitants of
Durham had in their city a saint named Cuthbert, who would
help and protect them in every adversity, so that no one could
harm them with impunity. Upon hearing this, they all returned
home.
A.D. 1071. Duke Eadwin was killed.
A.D. 1075. Queen Eaditha died. The dukes Roger and Ralph
wished to betray the king.
A.D. 1076. Earl Walthev was beheaded.
A.D. 1078. Hermann, bishop of Salisbury, died, and Osmund
succeeded him.
1 A.D. 730 in the MS., but erroneously. 2 In the MS. A.D. 1048.
72 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1080 —
A.D. 1080. There was a violent wind at Christmas. Walcer,
bishop of Durham, died.
A.D. 1083. Queen Matilda died.
A.D. 1084. Pope Wibert assumed the see.
A.D. 1087. William, king of the English, died, and was suc
ceeded in the kingdom by his son William.
A.D. 1089- Bishop Osmund appointed thirty-six canons in the
church of Salisbury. Archhishop Lanfranc died. An earthquake
occurred.
A.D. 1092. Bishop Osmund, and seven bishops, dedicated the
church of Salisbury.
A.D. 1093. Anselm was elected to the archbishopric.
A.D. 1094. Malcolm, king of Scots, and queen Margaret died.
A.D. 1096. Pope Urban preached the expedition to Jerusalem.
Antioch was captured by the Christians. A comet appeared.
A.D. 1099. Bishop Osmund and pope Urban died. Jerusalem
was taken by the Christians.
A.D. 1100. King William the younger died, as also archbishop
Thomas the elder. King Henry came to the throne.
A.D. 1101. Upon Christmas - day [Geoffrey] was solemnly
anointed and crowned king by the patriarch Daibert, in the pre
sence of the bishops, the clergy, and the people, in the church of
the blessed Mary at Bethlehem.
A.D. 1102. Roger was elected to the bishopric of Salisbury.
A.D. 1104. The body of St. Cuthbert, which remained uncorrupt,
was translated or exhibited ; four hundred and eighteen years, five
months, and twelve days having elapsed since his death ; in the
fifth year of the reign of king Henry, and the sixth of the epi
scopate of Ralph.
A.D. 1 105. King Henry burnt Bayeux.
A.D. 1106. King Henry obtained possession of Normandy. A
comet appeared in the month of February.
A.D. 1107. Roger, bishop of Salisbury, was ordained. Eadgar,
king of Scotland, died.
A.D. 1108. Bishop Gundulf died, and was succeeded by Ralph.
A.D. 1109. Archbishop Anselm died; and Henry, king of Eng
land, bestowed his daughter upon the emperor.
A.D. 1110. A comet appeared in the month of June.
A.D. 1111. Boiamund died, as also the abbess Eulalia. Pope
Paschal was made prisoner at Rome.
A,D. 1114. Archbishop Thomas the second died.
A.D. 1115. Mary, countess of Boulogne, died, on the second of
the kalends of June [31st May].
A.D. 1118. Pope Paschal died; as also Matilda, queen of Eng
land, and the patriarch Arnulf, and Baldewin, king of Jerusalem.
A.D. 1119. Pope Gelasius died; and there was an earthquake
upon the fourth of the kalends of October [28th Sept.].
A.D. 1120. William, the son of king Henry, and his brother
Richard, and Richard earl of Chester, and many of the nobility,
were shipwrecked and drowned.
A.D. 1122. Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, died.
A.D. 1153.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 73
A.D. 1123. John, bishop of Bath, and Robert, bishop of Lin
coln, died.
A.D. 1124. Alexander, king of the Scots, of good memory, died
on the seventh of the kalends of May [25th April].
A.D. 1125. There was a severe famine, and a great council was
held. The sheriff died.
A.D. 1128. The foundation of the church of the Holy Rood of
Edmesburch commenced.
A.D. 1129. William, bishop of Winchester, died, and Henry
was consecrated.
A.D. 1130. Anegus, earl of Moray, was killed by the Scots.
A.D. 1133. There was an eclipse upon the nones of August
[5th Aug.].
A.D. 1135. Henry, king of England, died upon the fourth of the
nones of December [2d Dec.], and Stephen succeeded him.
A.D. 1136. William, archbishop of Canterbury, died; and also
Richard Fitz Gilbert. The church of Glasgow was dedicated upon
the nones of July [7th July].
A.D. 1137. Upon the fifteenth of the kalends of December
[17th Nov.] a battle was fought between the Scots and the
English.
A.D. 1138. King Stephen took prisoners the bishop of Salisbury,
the bishop of Lincoln, and the chancellor.
A.D. 1140. King Stephen was captured at Lincoln by the earl
of Gloucester, and those others who took the part of the empress.
A.D. 1147. John, bishop of Glasgow, died. The second expedi
tion to Jerusalem was preached.
A.D. 1150. The church of Dunfermelin was dedicated. Abbot
Alwin voluntarily deposed himself from the pastoral care, and
Osbert assumed it. This same abbot Osbert died in the present
year, upon the fifteenth of the kalends of December [17th Nov.].
A.D. 1152. William was elected abbot. Matilda, queen of Eng
land, died upon the fifth of the nones of May [3d May]. Henry,
earl of Northumberland, the son of David, king of Scotland, died
upon the 2d of the ides of June [12th June]. Ascalon was taken
by the Christians.
A.D. 1153. David, king of the Scots, of pious memory, died
upon the ninth of the kalends of June [24th May], upon the Sun
day before Ascension-day. His successor in the kingdom was his
grandson, Malcolm, the son of Henry, the earl of Northumberland,
lately mentioned ; he was forty-two years old. Pope Eugenius
died ; he was succeeded by Anastasius. Then died also, Bernard,
abbot of Clairvaux, and Eustace, the son of Stephen, king of Eng
land; likewise Rader, earl of Chester, Simon, earl of Northampton,
and Henry, archbishop of York. Stephen, king of England, entered
into a treaty of perpetual peace and amity with Henry, the most
noble earl of Anjou, upon the festival of St. Leonard" the Abbot
[6th Nov.] . Upon the same day, Sumerled, and his nephews, that
is to say, the sons of Malcolm, having taken to themselves many
associates, rebelled against king Malcolm, and caused grievous
disturbances over the greater part of Scotland.
74 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1154—
A.D. 1154. By permission of Anastasius, the most pious pope,
William, archbishop of York, returned to his archiepiscopal see,)
with the greatest honour, and died within the seventh week after
wards. Hugh received the bishopric of Durham : he was con
secrated at Rome. In Scotland there was a very great famine and
murrain of cattle. Arthur, who was about to betray king Malcolm,
died in single combat. Geoffrey, the first abbot of Dunfermelin,
died, and his nephew Geoffrey succeeded in his place. Roger, of
Bishop's Bridge, was consecrated archbishop of York. Stephen,
king of England, died upon the eighth of the kalends of November
[25th Oct.] ; and Henry, duke of Normandy, was crowned upon
the fourteenth of the kalends of January [19th Dec.]. Dunecan,
earl of Fife, died. King Malcolm gave the church of Travernent
to the canons of Edinburgh. Upon the same day that Henry was
crowned king of England, Christian was consecrated bishop of
Galloway, at Bermundsey, by the archbishop of Rouen.1
A.D. 1155. Pope Anastasius died, and was succeeded by Adrian.
Ailwin, the first abbot of the church of Holy Rood, died.
A.D. 1156. Dofnald, the son of Malcolm, was taken prisoner at
Witterne, and placed in confinement by his father.
A.D. 1157. Peace was established between Malcolm Machel and
the king of the Scots. Henry, king of England, led an army into
Wales ; and there were slain Eustace Fitz John, and many others ;
but at last the Welsh made peace with the king. The king of
Scotland surrendered Northumberland and Cumberland to the king
of England, and the king of England gave him the earldom of
Huntingdon. Many of the brethren of the Temple of Jerusalem
were killed in battle.
A.D. 1158. Robert, bishop of St. Andrew's, of holy memory,
died. Malcolm, king of Scotland, accompanied Henry, king of
England, to Toulouse ; and when at Tours, he was invested with the
sword of a knight, by the same king Henry. William, earl of
Boulogne, the son of king Stephen, died. Pope Adrian died, and
was succeeded by Alexander, after the expulsion of Octavian, who
had wickedly claimed the apostolic see. William, bishop of Moray,
having been despatched to Rome by king Malcolm, was received
with the greatest honour by the aforesaid pope Alexander, and
sent back to Scotland with the favour and approbation of the
apostolic see.
A.D. 1160. King Malcolm thrice conducted an army into Gal
loway ; and having subdued his enemies there, he entered into
a treaty of peace with them, and returned without having expe
rienced any loss. Fergus, prince of Galloway, assumed the dress
of a canon in the church of the Holy Rood of Edinburgh ; and he
gave them the vill called Dunroden. Ernald, abbot of Kelso, was
elected bishop of St. Andrew's, and he was consecrated in the
church of St. Andrew's, by William, bishop of Moray, the legate of
the apostolic see. He was succeeded in his office by Walter. John
was elected abbot of Kelso, and received the benediction from
Herbert, bishop of Glasgow.
1 Hugh d' Amiens, concerning whom see Gallia Christ, xi. 43.
A.D. 1163.] CHRONICLE OF HOLYROOD. 75
A. D. 1161. Theodbald, archbishop of Canterbury, died. Fergus,
prince of Galloway, died, upon the fourth of the ides of May
[12th May].
A.D. 1162. William, bishop of Moray, who was also the legate
of the apostolic see, died upon the ninth of the kalends of February
[24th Jan.]. Thomas, the chancellor of the king of England, was
consecrated archbishop of Canterbury. Elda, the sister of Mal
colm, king of Scotland, married Florence, the noble earl of Hol
land. Isaac, prior of Scone, died ; and Robert, a canon of Jedde-
worth, was appointed the first abbot of the same church. Ernald,
bishop of St. Andrew's, and legate of the apostolic see, died upon
the ides of September [13th Sept.].
A.D. 1163. Henry, king of England, having restored peace to
the regions beyond the sea ******
CHEONICLE OF MELEOSB.
CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
AFTER that very truthful historian and most excellent doctor, the
venerable Beda, the honour and glory of our nation, had ceased to
write, none others have occurred, as far as we can discover, who
have narrated events with accuracy, or in a continuous narrative ;
or who have devoted themselves with due diligence to the recital
of occurrences, by years and seasons, so as to instruct the igno
rance of us who have succeeded them, and successfully to remove
the difficulties incident to the time in which we live. Pursuing
this, we have bestowed some little trouble (as much, indeed, as our
inertness will permit us to do, and our ability extends) upon a
diligent investigation into the truth of these matters. Taking upon
ourselves, therefore, to run over, with all brevity, the succession of
events from those three years with which the aforesaid venerable
Beda, the priest and monk of the monastery of Jarrow or Wear-
mouth, concludes his narrative, we shall commence with the very
words of the historian himself ; which, as it is well known, are as
follows : — •
" In 1 the year of our Lord's incarnation seven hundred and
thirty-one, archbishop Berhctwald died of old age, on the fifth2 of
the ides of January [9th Jan.], having held his see 37 years, 6
months, and 14 days. In his stead, and in the same year, Tatwine
was made archbishop. He was of the province of the Mercians,
having been a priest in the monastery which is called Briodun.
He was consecrated in the city of Canterbury by the venerable
men, Daniel, bishop of Winchester, and Ingwald, bishop of London,
and Alwid,3 bishop of Lichfield, and Aldulf, bishop of Rochester,
on the tenth day of the month of June, being Sunday ; he was a
man remarkable for his religion and wisdom, and notably learned
in the sacred writings.
" Thus at this present time, bishops Tatwine and Aldulf preside
over the churches of Kent ; Hingwald is bishop over the province
of the East Saxons ; Eadbert and Eadhelac 4 are bishops in the
province of the East Angles ; Daniel and Forther are bishops in
the province of the West Saxons. In the province of the Mercians,
Alwin is bishop ; and over those people who dwell beyond the
river Severn to the westward, Walstod is bishop. In the province
:>f the Wiccians, Wilfrid is bishop ; in the province of the Lindis-
ari, Cinibrihct is bishop; the bishopric of the Isle of Wight
1 See v. xxiii. § 449.
2 Beda says that he died on the" 13th of January, but his name occiirs tinder
Hh January in the principal Marty rologies. See Acta SS. Bolland. i. 597.
3 Read Alduin. * Read Aldberct and Hadulac.
80 CHURCH HISTORIANS OP ENGLAND. [A.D. 735—
belongs to Daniel, bishop of the city of Winchester. The pro
vince of the South Saxons having now continued for some years
without a bishop, receives the episcopal ministry from the bishop
of the West Saxons. All these provinces, and the others to the
south, as far as the banks of the river Humber, along with their
kings, are subject to Ethelbald, king of the Mercians.
" But over the province of the Northumbrians, which is now
governed by king Ceowlf,1 four bishops now preside : Wilfrid in
the church of York, Ethelwald in the church of Lindisfarne, Acca
in the church of Hexham, Pictelm in that which is called Whit-
hern ; which last, from the increased number of believers, has of
late become an additional episcopal see, and has him as its first
bishop. The nation of the Picts at this time has a treaty of peace
with the nation of the Angles ; and having become a partaker of
the catholic 2 peace and truth, rejoices therein with the universal
church. The Scots who inhabit Britain, contented with their own
territories, form no plots or conspiracies against the nation of the
Angles. The Britons, although they, for the most part, through
domestic hatred, are hostile to the nation of the Angles, and by
their wicked usages oppose the custom of the whole catholic church,
yet, as they are firmly opposed by both divine and human power,
they can obtain their desired object on neither side ; for although
they are partly independent, yet they are also partly under subjec
tion to the Angles. Such being the calm and peaceful condition
of the times, many of the Northumbrian nation, as well nobles as
private persons, laying aside their weapons, are minded to accept
the tonsure, and to dedicate both themselves and their children to
monastic vows, rather than to employ themselves in warlike occu
pations. What will be the issue of these things will be seen by
the future age. At the present time this is the condition of the
whole of Britain, about the year two hundred and eighty-five since
the arrival of the Angles in Britain, but in the seven hundred and
thirty-first year of our Lord's incarnation, in whose reign let the
earth ever rejoice, and let the many isles of Britain exult and be
glad in his faith."
Thus far have we been able to use the language of the venerable
and most trustworthy Beda, the doctor not only of the English
church, but also (as we confidently dare affirm) of the church
catholic ; and we have drawn, as from a most limpid fountain,
these statements from the Ecclesiastical History of our nation, of
which he is the author. The portion, however, which now
follows, is excerpted from various sources, some from one place,
some from another.
In the same year died archbishop Tatwin.
A.D. 735. Nothelm was ordained as archbishop of Canterbury.
Ecgberth, archbishop of York, was confirmed as the archbishop
over the nation of the Northumbrians ; he being the first after
Paulinus, who received the pall from the apostolic see.
A.D. 736. After having received the pall from the apostolic
1 Read Ceolwulf. 2 See Beda, E. H. § 444.
A.D. 750.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 81
pontiff, Nothelm ordained three bishops, namely Cuthbert, Heord-
wald, and Ethelfrid. The venerable doctor Beda died at Jarrow.
A.D. 737. Aldwin, bishop of Lichfield, died, and in his stead
Witta and Totta were consecrated bishops for the Mercians and
Middle Angles. In the same year Ceolwulf, the most noble king
of the Northumbrians, after having reigned seven years, became a
monk, and resigned the sceptre of his kingdom to Eadbert, the son
of his uncle. This Eadbert reigned twenty-one years.
A.D. 738. Suebricht, king of the East Saxons, died.
A.D. 739. Nothelm, archbishop of Canterbury, and Alaulf,
bishop of Rochester, died.
A.D. 740. Cuthbert, the eleventh archbishop of the church of Can
terbury, succeeded to that see, during the time of [pope] Zachary ;
and Dun succeeded Aldulf as bishop of Rochester. Adelwald, bishop
of Lindisfarne, departed to the Lord, and Kinewulf was appointed
in his stead in the bishopric. In the same year died Adelard, king
of the West Saxons, after having reigned fourteen years, and
Cudred reigned in his stead. St. Acca of Hexham died, to whom
succeeded St. Frithebert the bishop.
A.D. 741. The monastery of York1 was consumed by fire, on
Sunday, the ninth of the kalends of May [23d April]. Ewain
king of the Scots, died, and was succeeded by Murezaut, his son.
A.D. 742.
A.D. 743.
A.D. 744. A battle was fought between the Picts and the
Britons. In the same year Cudred, king of the West Saxons, and
\delbald, king of the Mercians, made peace with each other ; and,
laving united their armies, they fought against the Britons. Mure-
:aut, king of the Scots, died, and was succeeded by Ewen his son.
A.D. 745. Flashes of fire were seen in the air like wandering
tars, during the whole of the eighth of the kalends of January
7th Jan.], and they were a source of great dismay to all who saw
hem. In the same year Wilfrid, the second of the name, bishop
f York, died ; and also in the same year died Inguald, bishop of
Condon, and also the bishop of the Wiccians.
A.D. 746. Daniel, bishop of Winchester, died.
A.D. 747- Selred, king of the East Angles, died, and was suc-
eeded by Elfwald. Ewen, king of the Scots, died ; his son He-
abbus succeeded him.
A.D. 748.
A.D. 749. Edbricht, king of Kent, the son of Wihred, died, and
as succeeded by Adelbricht. In the same year Elfwald, the king
? the East Angles, died, and Humbeam and Albert divided the
ngdom between them. In this year also Kenric, son of Cudred,
ng of the West Saxons, youthful in years, but of exceeding
lergy, was slain in battle.
A.D. 750. Adelbert, king of the Northumbrians, led captive
iniwulf,2 bishop of Lindisfarne, into the city of Bebba, and
used the church of St. Peter in Lindisfarne to be blockaded.
1 The Saxon Chron. mentions the incident without specifying the date.
2 See the corresponding passage in Simeon of Durham.
82 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 751—
Cudhred rebelled against, and fought with the haughty king l of
Mercia. Bishop Alwich 2 died, and was succeeded by Aldulph.
A.D. 751. King Cudred fought with that audacious earl of his,
Adelhun, who had excited a rebellion against him. This nobleman
was just upon the very eve of obtaining a victory, but a wound
which he received permitted the righteous cause of the king to
triumph.
A.D. 752. An eclipse3 happened on the day before the kalends
of August [31st July].
A.D. 753. King Cudred, having made peace with earl Adelhun,
whom we have already mentioned, engaged in battle at Bereford
with Adelbald, the haughty king of the Mercians, who had brought
forward with him the men of Kent and Mercia, as well as the East
Saxons and Angles. When they joined battle, God, who resisteth
the proud, scattered the power of Adelbald.
A.D. 754. Boniface, archbishop of the Franks, called also Win-
frid, was crowned with martyrdom, along with fifty-three others.
In the same year king Cudred fought against the Britons, and
made great havoc among them.
A.D. 755. Cudred died, and left his kingdom to his relative,
Sigebert.
A.D. 756. Sigebert, the king of the West Saxons, having become
intolerable through his insolence, was expelled from his kingdom :
he fled, and hid himself in the forest which is called Andredeswald,
where he was discovered, and put to death by a certain swineherd,
whose master, earl Humbra,4 this king had wickedly slain. He
was succeeded by Kinewald, a worthy young man of the royal race.
In the same year the anchorite Balthere, having imitated the life of
the saints, departed to the Lord. The moon was covered with a
bloody redness, upon the eighth of the kalends of December5
[24th Nov.], she being then fifteen days old.
A.D. 757. Adelbald, king of the Mercians, having been slain al
Secandune, Beornred succeeded, whom Offa drove out in the same
year, and during thirty-nine years he held the kingdom of Merck
in his stead.
A.D. 758. Eadbert, the king of Northumbria, having receivet
the tonsure on his head for God's sake, was made a canon at Yorl
under archbishop Egbert, and he left his kingdom to his son Osulf
After he had reigned for one year, he and his people were killet
on the ninth of the kalends of August [24th July], at Methel
wongtune,6 leaving Mol Adelwald as the heir of his kingdom.
A.D. 759. Edelwald, who was also called Moll, began to reign i:
Northumberland in the month of August.
A.D. 760. A very terrible battle was fought near Eladun,7 i
1 Compare the Saxon Chronicle, A. D. 750.
2 Bishop of Lindiase, or Sidnacester. See Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 3.
3 An eclipse of the moon took place at half-past one on the morning of 31
July. See L'Art de Veref. les Dates, i. 317.
4 Cumbra, according to the Saxon Chronicle.
5 Upon the 23d November, at seven in the evening, there was an eclipse of tl
moon. L'Art, i. 318.
c See Simeon, p. 448, note 7. 7 See Id. note 8.
A.D. 772.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 83
which Oswin fell, and Edwald, who was called Mol, had the vic
tory. This year died Unnust, king of the Picts.
A.D. 761. Archbishop Cuthbert was delivered from the burden
of the flesh. Edelbert, king of Kent, died, and Egfrid succeeded.
A.D. 762. The before -mentioned king Edelwald took Etheldrida
as his queen.
A.D. 763.
A.D. 764. A severe frost having hardened the snow, bound up
the ground from the beginning of winter until nearly the middle
of the spring. In the same year Ceolwulf, formerly king, but now
a servant of Christ and a monk, departed to the heavenly country.
Abbot Frehelm died. In this same year also died Totta, bishop of
the nation of the Mercians, succeeded by Eadbert ; and Frethewald,
bishop of Whitherne, to whom Pictwine succeeded.
A.D. 765. Flashes of fire were seen in the sky. Adelwald l
Mol slew Oswin, a most valiant leader of his own nation, because
he had risen against him. In this year the same Adelwald lost
the kingdom of Northumbria, which he had held for six years ; he
was succeeded by Aldred, who reigned eight years. Bregwin,
archbishop of Canterbury, died, and was succeeded by Lambert.
Also two other bishops died, that is to say, Hemeli, bishop of the
Mercians,2 succeeded by Cuthfrid ; and Aldulf of Lichfield, to
whom Ceolwulf succeeded.
A.D. 766. Egbert, archbishop of York, went to rest in the peace
of Christ, to whom Albert succeeded. Frithebert, bishop of
Hexham, departed from this world to the Lord on the tenth of the
kalends of January [23d Dec.], to whom succeeded Alchmund.
Frithewald,3 bishop of Chester, died.
A.D. 767. Etha, that faithful anchorite at Creic, near York,
died happily.
A. D. 768. Eadbert, formerly king, died happily, being a cleric and
the servant of God. In the same year pope Stephen, and Pipin,
the king of the Franks, died. Alcred, king of Northumbria, took
Osgeiva as his queen.
A.D. 769. Earnred the tyrant burnt Caterick, and he himself
perished in the flames. In the same year the empire of the
Romans, together with the kingdom of the Franks, was subjected
to Charles the Great, the son of king Pipin.
A.D. 770.
A.D. 771. Sibald the abbot died. The reader Ecgric departed
to the society of the elect. Offa, king of the Mercians, reduced
to his subjection the Hestings by arms.
A.D. 772. Duke Pittell, and Sunuthulf the abbot, died in peace.
1 It is probable that this is a second notice of the event already recorded
A.D. 760.
2 He was bishop of Lichfield. Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 540.
3 Another error here occurs, from the annalist neglecting to observe that he
here introduces from the Saxon Chron. (A.D. 766) a statement which he had
already inserted from Simeon, the chronology of these authorities varying two
years the one from the other. Frithwald, here styled bishop of Chester, was, in
fact, bishop of Whithern ; and the false reading of the text proceeds from a mis
apprehension of the Saxon Chronicle, which states that he was consecrated " on
Ceastrum," that is, at York.
G 2
84 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 773-^
A.D. 773. Hadwin, the bishop of the church " Migensis," died,
and in his place Leuthfrid was appointed. Wlfeht, abbot of
Beverley, departed to the Lord. Albert of York received the pall
which had been sent to him from pope Adrian.
A.D. 774. King Aldred, being abandoned by his own people,
left his kingdom, and went into exile ; he was succeeded by Aedel-
red, the son of Moll. Offa, king of the Mercians, fought against
the men of Kent at Ottanford, and, after a fearful slaughter on
both sides, he obtained the victory. During this year red appear
ances were seen in the heavens after sunset ; and terrible snakes,
which caused great wonder, were seen in Sussex.
A.D. 775. The Old Saxons, from whom the nation of the Angles
is descended, were converted to Christ. In the same year Cynoth,
the king of the Picts, died, and Eadulf the duke, after having
been captured by fraud, was treacherously slain. The most famous
Charles, king of the Franks, overcame the Saxons, and brought
under his rule the province of the Bavarians, which had formerly
been reduced by the Franks.
A.D. 776. Pecthwine, bishop of Whiteherne, departed to the
Lord, and was succeeded by Ethelbert.
A.D. 777. Kinewulf, king of the West Saxons, fought against
Offa, king of the Mercians, near Benetune,1 but was put to flight
by him. Ethelbert, the successor of Picthwine, was consecrated
at York. Aldulf, Kinulf, and Ecga, the nobles of king Ethelred,
were treacherously slain 2 at his instigation, by the chiefs Adelbald
and Heardbert, on the third of the kalends of October [29th Sept.].
Hed, king of the Scots, died, and was succeeded by his son
Fergus,
A. D. 778. Adelbald and Heardbert, the chiefs of king Ethelred
of Northumbria, rebelled against their lord, and slew Aldulf, the
son of Bosa, the leader of the army, at Kingesclive, and afterwards
they slew Kinulf and Ecga, the dukes of the same king, at Hylatyrn.a
Hereupon the king fled from before their face, and they appointed
as king, Alfwold, the son of king Osulf, in his stead.
A.D. 779. On the expulsion of Ethelred, Alfwold assumed the
kingdom of Northumberland.
A.D. 780. The generals Osbald and Ethelard, having collected
an army, burnt Beam, the nobleman of king Alfwold, at Seletune,
on the ninth of the kalends of January [24th Dec.]. Archbishop *
Albert departed to Christ ; before his death Eanbald was ordained,
and this same year received the pall which had been sent to him.
Bishop Kiniwulf,5 casting aside the cares of the world, committed
the bishopric to Higbald. Fergus, king of the Scots, died, and
was succeeded by his son Seluand.
A.D. 781. Alchmund, bishop of Hexham, departed to Christ on
the seventh of the ides of September [7th Sept.], and was succeeded
by Tylbert.
1 See the Saxon Chron., which corrects this reading.
2 Simeon places this event under the following year.
3 Helathyrn, in the Saxon Chron. Perhaps Ellerton, in Yorkshire.
4 Archbishop of York. Florence ascribes his death to the next year.
5 Bishop of Lindisfarne. See the Saxon Chron. A. D. 782.
A.D. 793.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 85
A.D. 782. There was a council at Acle.
A.D. 783. Werburga, formerly queen of the Mercians, but at
this time an abbess, died. In the same year bishop Kiniwulf,
whom we have mentioned l above, died happily.
A.D. 784. Kinewulf,2 king of the West Saxons, was killed by
Kinehard, the brother of Sigebert, because the king had determined
to send him into exile.
A.D. 785. Brichtric succeeded Kinewulf.
A.D. 786. Bothwine, the venerable abbot of Ripon, died by a
happy end, and was succeeded by Albert. In the same year
Aldulf was consecrated bishop by archbishop Eanbald, and bishops
Tylbert and Higbald, at Corbridge, and, after having been enriched
with many gifts, was sent back to his own church. Queen Rach-
trida, at this time an abbess, died. Kinehard was slain by king
Osred, out of revenge for his lord, king Kinewulf. Pope Adrian
sent his legates into Britain, to restore the catholic faith, and con
firm it ; and they were honourably received, and sent back again.
A.D. 787. A "synod was assembled at Pincanhale. Albert,
abbot of Ripon, departed to the Lord, and Sigred was ordained in
his stead.
A.D. 788. King Elfwald was slain in his innocence, by his
nobleman named Siga, and his body was buried in the church at
Hexham. In the place where he was slain, a light having ap
peared streaming down from heaven, a church was built, to the
honour of the saints Oswald and Cuthbert. His nephew Osred
succeeded him.
A.D. 789. Osred was driven from his kingdom by the treachery
:>f his own people.
A.D. 790. King Ethelred, the son of Moll, was delivered from
lis banishment, and restored to his kingdom ; he laid hold upon
luke Eardulf, and having conducted him to Ripon, he there put
lim to death opposite the gate of the monastery. His body, how
ever, was carried into the church ; and when the brethren were
inging around him for his benefit, after midnight, it was discovered
hat he was alive. Baldulf was ordained bishop at Whitherne.
A.D. 791. King Ethred miserably slaughtered the sons of king
Clfwald, that is, Aelf and Elwine, at Wonwaldremere, after having
[ragged them away from York by force. Lambert, archbishop of
Canterbury, departed to Christ, and was succeeded by Ethelred,
bbot of the monastery " Ludensis."
A.D. 792. Osred returned from his exile along with an army;
ut it having deserted him, he was taken prisoner, and at the com-
land of king Ethelred he was put to death, and buried at Tyne-
louth. King Ethelred took as his queen Elfleda, the daughter of
)ffa, king of the Mercians.
A. D. 793. Fiery dragons appeared in the air, and this prodigy
as followed by two plagues ; the former was an intolerable famine,
I le second proceeded from the savage cruelty of the nation of the
agans and Norwegians, who, in the same year, destroyed the
lonastery of Lindisfarne, killed the monks, and harassed North-
1 See A. D. 780. < See A. D. 756.
86 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 794—
umberland with considerable slaughter. In the same year Sigga,
the duke who had slain king Elfwald, died a profane death by his
own hand.
A.D. 794. The Northumbrians slew their king Ethelred,1 the
son of Moll ; but Osbald the nobleman having been elevated to
the throne, was expelled from the kingdom twenty-seven days
afterwards. He assumed the religious garb, and was afterwards
made abbot. Eardulf, the son of Earnulf, who (as we have already2
mentioned) returned to life, was recalled from his exile, and
appointed king. Egfrid, king of Kent, died, and was succeeded by
Eadbrich Pren. Pope Adrian was translated to a dwelling in the
heavens ; he was succeeded by Leo. The nation of the pagans
already mentioned plundered the monastery of king Egfrid at
Donemutha,3 but not without punishment ; for by the agency of
the blessed Cuthbert, some of them were killed, some were ship
wrecked, some were taken prisoners while yet alive, and were im
mediately put to death upon the shore.
A.D. 795. Charles, the king of the Franks, reduced the nation of
the Huns ; and after having put their prince to flight and conquered
their army, he then divided the spoils among the poor people and
the churches, and these spoils consisted of fifteen waggons laden
with gold and silver, each of which was drawn by four oxen.
A.D. 796. Offa, king of the Mercians, (who had made a great
ditch from sea to sea,) died, after a reign of thirty-nine years ; he
was succeeded by his son Egfrid, who died five months afterwards.
Cenwulf then took the kingdom, and held it in peace for twenty-
six years. He was the father of Kenelm the martyr. Eanbald,
archbishop of York, died, and was succeeded by another of the
same name. The bishops who ordained him were Ethelbert, Hig-
bald, and Badulf.
A.D. 797. Bishop4 Ethelbert died, and was buried in his own
church, that is, the church of Hexham; Headred was his suc
cessor. The Romans 5 cut out the tongue of pope Leo, and after
having plucked out his eyes, they drove him from the apostolic see ;
but by the power of God he was afterwards enabled to speak, and
was restored to the apostolic see.
A.D. 798. The murderers of king Ethelred, with Wada their
leader, waged war at Billingahoh, near Waleleie, against Eardulf,
the successor of Ethelred, and many persons were slain ; but
Wada, the leader, was put to flight, and Eardulf had the victory.
London was burnt down by a sudden fire, and a large number oi
the inhabitants were consumed. Cenwulf, king of the Mercians,
destroyed the men of Kent in a most cruel inroad ; and having
seized and disgraced their king, he added the kingdom to his own,
and then Cuthred took it, and held it of him. A synod assembled
at Pincenhalhe, under the presidency of archbishop Eanbald.
1 Simeon places this event upon the 18th of April, 796.
2 See A. D. 790, 3 Now Tynemouth.
4 Bishop of Candida Cosa, or Whitherne.
5 The Chronicle here returns to the computation of the Saxon Annals, froir
which it had departed; Simeon places this event in 799.
A.D. 807.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 87
A.D. 799. Brorda, the chief of the Mercians, who was also
named Hildegils, died. A certain abbot, named Mora, died a
lamentable death, having been slain by Tilthegn, his chief officer.
Moll the duke was also slain by the command of king Eardulf.
The duke Aldred, he who had murdered king Ethelred, was put to
death by duke Thormund, the avenger of his lord. The former duke
and nobleman, Osbald, who had been king aforetime, but who at this
period was an abbot, deceased, and was buried in the church at York.
A.D. 800. Headred, the bishop of the church of Hexham, died,
and was succeeded by Eanbert. Alchmund, the predecessor of
Ethelred, the son of king Aldred, having been seized by the
guardians of king Eardulf, was put to death by his orders. A very
high wind overthrew many cities and towns, and plucked up the trees
by the roots, on the ninth of the kalends of January [24th Dec.] ;
the sea passed over its boundaries, and a severe murrain destroyed
much cattle. The king Charles, relying upon his imperial majesty,
condemned to death those Romans who had done dishonour to
pope Leo ; but he pardoned them the capital punishment upon the
entreaties of that pope, and sent them away into exile.
A.D. 801. Edwin, called also Eda, formerly the duke of the
Northumbrians, but at this time an abbot, died happily on the
eighteenth of the kalends of February [15th Jan.], and was buried
in his church at Gainford. Eardulf, the king of the Northum
brians, and Kinewulf, king of the Mercians, met together to fight ;
but, by the advice of the bishops and princes, they entered into a
treaty of peace, to endure as long as they lived, and they confirmed
it with an oath.
A.D. 802. Brichtric, king of the Western [Saxons], died by
poison, which had been administered to him (although prepared
and intended for another person) by queen Eadburga, the daughter
of king Offa, that constant accuser of the virtuous. Passing the
sea with countless treasures, she offered gifts to king Charles. The
king said to her, " I give you the choice between me and my son:
you shall have whom you please." She, in her wantonness, selected
the son, because he was the younger of the two, and thus lost both.
The king, however, gave her a monastery, in which she assumed
the garb of a nun, and so clothed her hypocrisy ; but having com
mitted adultery with a certain mean person of her own nation, she
was detected, and dismissed from the monastery by the king's
orders, and at last she died a miserable death in Pavia, after
begging her way through towns and villages. Brichtric was suc
ceeded by Egbert, one of the royal family.
A.D. 803.
A.D. 804. Seluad, king of the Scots, died, and was succeeded
by Eokal, the poisoner.
A.D. 805. Adelhard, archbishop of Canterbury, died, an,d was
succeeded by Wiffred.
A.D. 806. Eardulf, the king of the Northumbrians, was expelled
by his own people, and for a long time there was no king.
A.D. 807. Cuthred, king of Kent, died, and was succeeded by
Baldred. J
88 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 808-^
A.D. 808.
A.D. 809.
A.D. 810.
A.D. 811.
A.D. 812.
A.D. 813. Charles the Great, king of the Franks, died; his son
Louis succeeded him.
A.D. 814. Egbert, king of the West Saxons, pillaged throughout
the kingdoms of the other sovereigns, from east to west, and there
was no one who could resist him.
A.D. 815. St. Leo departed from the world ; Stephen succeeded.
A.D. 816.
A.D. 817. Alchstan succeeded to the bishopric of the church
of Shirburn, which he held for fifty years.
A.D. 818.
A.D. 819.
A.D. 820.
A.D. 821. Cenwulf, the king of the Mercians, died, and was
succeeded by Ceolwulf.
A.D. 822.
A.D. 823. Ceolwulf lost the kingdom of the Mercians, of which
he was deprived by Beornulf.
A.D. 824. The East Anglians slew in battle Beornulf, the king
of the Mercians ; he was succeeded by Luceden. In the same
year occurred a great battle between the Britons and the people of
Davenescire, at Gavelforde. Egbert, king of the West Saxons, put
to flight Baldred, king of Kent, and seized his kingdom.
A.D. 825. Luceden, king of the Mercians, was slain, and his
five earls with him. Wilac succeeded.
A.D. 826.
A.D. 827. Egbert, king of the West Saxons, put to rout Wilac,
king of the Mercians, and obtained his kingdom.
A.D. 828. Moved by compassion, Egbert granted permission to
Wilac, king of the Mercians, to hold [that kingdom] from him. In
this year the same king, Egbert, by the power of his army, subdued
the people of North Wales.
A.D. 829. Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury, having died,
Ceolnoth succeeded.
A.D. 830.
A.D. 831.
A.D. 832. The Danes returned into England, and plundered
Peseige.1
A.D. 833. The Danes having arrived in thirty-five large vessels at
Karrum [Charmouth] , they were attacked by king Egbert, but they
gained the victory ; and on the side of Egbert, there were slain two
bishops, Herefrid and Wigfrid, and two noblemen, Dudda and
Osmod.
A. D. 834. An army landed in West Wales from the Danish
ships ; and the Welshmen joining it, they fought against Egbert,
1 An error for Sceapige, that is, the isle of Sheppy. See the Saxon Chronicle.
A.D. 852.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 89
but they were defeated by him at Hengestesdune.1 Eokal, king of
the Scots, died, and was succeeded by Dungal, his son.
A.D. 835.
A.D. 836.
A.D. 837.
A.D. 838. Egbert, king of the West Saxons, and now the
monarch of the whole of England, died.
A.D. 839. Athewulf, the son of Egbert, received the kingdom of
the West Saxons, and his other brother, Athelstan, had the kingdom
of Kent. In the same year Athelwulf, when righting against the
Danes in one part of his kingdom, sent his earl Wulfard against
such of them as had arrived at Hampton in thirty-three ships, and
he gained a victory over them. He also sent Ethelelm against
some others at Port, but he was killed by them.
A.D. 840. Heredbert the earl fought against the Danes at
Merscware,2 by whom he was there slain. In the same year the
Danes made great havoc in Kent, Mercia, and East Anglia.
A.D. 841. The Danes pillaged in the neighbourhood of Canter
bury, Rochester, and London. In the same year died Louis, the
king of the Franks, the son and successor of Charles the Great ;
and he was succeeded by his son, Charles the Bald. Dungal, king
of the Scots, died, and was succeeded by Alpin, the son of EokaL
A.D. 842.
A.D. 843. King Adelwulf, with one portion of his army, (for he
had sent parts of it into different localities,) fought against these
[Danes], who had landed at Karrum [Charmouth], as we have
mentioned above, but they gained the victory. Elpin, king of the
Scots, died, and was succeeded by his son Kined.
A.D. 844.
A.D. 845.
A.D. 846.
A.D. 847. The venerable bishop Alcstan, with the men of Somer
set, and duke Osred, with the men of Dorset, fought against the
Danes, and gained the victory at Pedredesmuthe.
A.D. 848.
A.D. 849- A son was born in Berrocscire, to king Athelwolf,
called Elfred ; his mother was the noble and religious Osburga, [the
daughter] of the illustrious Oslac, the cupbearer of king Adelwolf.
A.D. 850.
A.D. 851. Ceorl, earl of Devonshire, fought against the Danes
at Wincanbeorh, and conquered them ; a great army of the Danes
had arrived in three hundred and fifty ships, at the mouth of the
Thames, and pillaged Canterbury, and had put to flight Brichtwulf,
the king of the Mercians, who, along with his army, had come to
fight with them. When king Athelwulf heard of this, he, along
with his son Athelbald, collected an army, and met them at a
place called Aclea, and overcame them in battle.
A.D. 852. Bertulf, king of the Mercians, died, and Burchred
1 Now Hengston-hill, in Cornwall.
2 Apparently an error arising from a mistranslation of the Saxon. See the
Saxon Chron., and Florence of Worcester. A. D. 838.
90 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 852—
succeeded him. In this same year the brother of Athelwulf,
Athelstan, the king of the people of Kent, and earl (or duke)
Alchere, defeated the army of the pagans, and took nine of their
ships at Sandwich.
A. D. 853. Burchred, king of the Mercians, strengthened by the
assistance of Athelwulf, the king of the West Saxons, reduced the
Midland Britons, that is, the Welshmen, under his sway. Athel
wulf sent his son Alfred to pope Leo, to be anointed as king ;
the pope received him as his son, and consecrated him.
A.D. 854. Duke Alchere, with the men of Kent, and duke
Huda, with the men of Somerset, engaged the pagans at the isle
[of Thanet1], but were slain. Eardulf removed the bishopric of
Lindisfarne. Burchred took [to wife] the daughter of Athelwulf.
Wulfere became archbishop of York.
A.D. 855. After having given the tenth part of his kingdom to
the churches of God, king Athewulf went to Rome, where he and
his son Alfred remained one year ; upon his return 4ie took to wife
Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bald, the king of the Franks.
A.D. 856.
A.D. 857.
A.D. 858. On the death of Athewulf, king of the West Saxons,
his son Adelbold took the kingdom, and, to his eternal disgrace,
married his father's wife, Judith, the daughter of Charles.
A.D. 859. St. Edmund succeeded to the kingdom of the East
Angles. Kined, the king of the Scots, died, and was succeeded
by Dovenald.
A.D. 860. King Athelbald died, and was succeeded by Athel-
bert, who also had taken the kingdom of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex,
after the death of his uncle Adelstan.
A.D. 861.
A.D. 862.
A.D. 863. St. Swithin, bishop of Winchester, ascended into the
heavens. Dovenald, king of the Scots, died.
A.D. 864. Ethelbert, king of West Saxony and Kent, died, and
was succeeded by his brother Ethelred.
A.D. 865. An army of the pagans, of which the leaders were
Iwar and Hubba, came into England, and took up their quarters
in East Anglia.
A.D. 866. The army of the pagans, which was under the direc
tion of Iwar and Hubba, came to York. The Northumbrians cast
off their king Osbrich, and took to themselves another ignoble per
sonage named Aella.
A.D. 867- Osbrich and Aella, having made peace with each
other, for their mutual advantage, marched to York, and having
broken down the wall, both these kings were killed in their attack
upon the pagans, and an innumerable multitude of their people
fell with them ; the remainder made peace with them. The Danes,
however, placing themselves under a single ruler, appointed Egbert
king over the Northumbrians. In the same year died Alchstan,
bishop of Shirburn.
1 See the Saxon Chron. A. D. 853.
A.D. 873.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 91
A.D. 868. A comet appeared. Iwar and Hubba came from
Northumbria to Nottingham, but they were opposed by Burchred,
the king of the Mercians, who was strengthened by the aid of king
Ethelred and his brother Alfred. Alfred took to wife the daughter
of Ethelred, surnamed the Great, the earl of the Gaians, and
Eadburga, one of the kingly family of the Mercians.
A. D. 869. Iwar and Hubba returned into Northumbria, pillaging
and slaying very many people.
A.D. 870. Iwar and Hubba, along with many thousands of the
Danes, came to East Anglia, and put to death St. Edmund, and
bishop Humbert along with him. Ceolnoth, archbishop of Can
terbury, died, and was succeeded by Ethelred.
A.D. 871. The army of the pagans advanced into West Saxony
as far as Reading ; two kings, Basrechg1 and Haldene, were its
leaders. Ethelwulf, the earl of Berkshire, opposing them, slew at
Englefeld earl Sydroc the elder ; and after four days king Athelred
and his brother Alfred came up ; whereupon a battle having been
fought, many fell on each side, and then the before-mentioned earl
Athelwulf was killed. Again, after four days, king Athelred and
his brother Alfred fought against them at Essendun. The pagans
divided themselves into two troops, one of which was led by the
two kings already mentioned, while all the earls acted as generals
to the other. Hereupon Athelred divided his army into two parts,
with one of which he attacked the two kings, and slew one of
them, that is, Basrech ; while the second division, under Alfred,
engaged with the earls, and killed four of them, namely, Sydroc
the younger, Osbern, Freana, and Harold. After a few days
there was again a fight at Basing, when the Danes had the victory,
and bishop Alchmund was killed. Again, there was another battle
at Reading. Then king Ethelred died, and was succeeded by his
brother Alfred. His wife, Elswitha, bore him two sons, Edward
and Agelward, and three daughters, Elfletha, Ethelgiva, and Elf-
thritha. After the expiration of a month, he fought against the
pagans at Wilton, but the Danes had the victory, for they were
numerous, while the English were few ; for they had been worn
out with much fighting, in which conflicts there had fallen, on the
side of the pagans, one king and nine earls.
A.D. 872. Alchwin, bishop of the Wiccians, died, and was suc
ceeded by that most learned man Werefrid, who had been ordained
by Ethered, archbishop of Canterbury. At the command of king
Alfred he translated into Saxon, out of the Latin language, the
books of the Dialogues of the blessed Gregory. At this time the
Northumbrians drove out their king Egbert, and archbishop Wul-
fere. The army of the pagans proceeded from Reading to London,
and there passed the winter ; the people of Mercia made peace
with them.
A.D. 873. The army of the pagans already mentioned, with
1 The variations which occur in the form of this name,— Bergsecg, Beicgsecg,
Bagssec, Bachsecg — seem to point out as its original the Scandinavian Berserk, a
term used to denote a champion whose valour was supposed to proceed from
supernatural influence. See Ihre, Gloss. Suio-Goth. i. 172.
92 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 873—
their king Haldene, spent the winter at Torkesey in Lindsey.
Egbert, the king of the Northumbrians, died, and Ricsic was made
king. Wulfere the archbishop was restored to his see.
A.D. 874. Aldene and his army, having removed themselves
from Lindsey, spent the winter at Repedune, where three other
kings took up their abode with him, that is to say, Godrun, Oske-
tin, and Andwen ; and they expelled king Burchred from the
kingdom of the Mercians. He went to Rome, and there he died,
and was buried in the church of St. Mary, within the Saxon
school. The Danes entrusted the kingdom of the Mercians to
Ceolwulf.
A.D. 875. One portion of the army under Haldene, having
reduced Northumbria under their jurisdiction, there remained ;
while the other part, under three kings, passed the winter at Cam
bridge. In a naval battle against l seven of the ships of the pagans,
king Alfred took one of them, and the others escaped by flight.
Bishop Eardulf and abbot Edred, having taken the body of St.
Cuthbert from Lindisfarne, wandered about here and there for
seven years.
A.D. 876. Ricsig, king of the Northumbrians, died, and was
succeeded by Egbert. The army of the three kings came to Wer-
ham,2 and West Saxony. King Alfred entered into a treaty of
peace with them, and took hostages from them ; but on the night
next ensuing they broke the treaty and departed, and plundered
round about Exeter, that is, Caerwisc. The heathen Rollo, a
Dane by nation, invaded Normandy with his people, and took
possession of it ; he was afterwards baptized, and called Rodbert.
A.D. 877. The naval force of the pagans perished in the sea
with one hundred and twenty [ships3], and Haldene with twenty-
three ships sailed to Devonshire, where they were put to death by
the followers of king Alfred, and with them one thousand, two
hundred, and twenty men. The other army went from Exeter to
Chippenham, along with a great multitude, which had recently
arrived from Denmark. But king Alfred being deserted by his
followers, and left with a few persons, hid himself in the forests.
But after a time, having been encouraged in a vision by the blessed
Cuthbert, he advanced against his enemies to a place called Ethan -
dun, and overcame them in battle; and they, losing confidence,
gave hostages, and made oath that they would depart from the
kingdom ; and their king, Godrun, promised that he would become
a Christian.
A.D. 878. Godrun was baptized, and king Alfred received him
from the holy font, and afterwards he gave him East Anglia, in
which St. Aedmund had reigned, and he called him Athelstan.
Charles the Bald, the king of the Franks, died.
A. D. 879. A new army of the pagans came into England, and
1 Simeon of Durham says they were six in number, but the text is supported
by the Saxon Chronicle.
2 Probably we should read Werhain in West Saxony, or Wareham in Dorset
shire.
3 See the Saxon Chronicle.
A.D.886.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 93
took up their abode at Fulenham [Fulham], near the river Thames.
Het, the king of the Scots, is killed.
A. D. 880. Godrun, with his people, began to inhabit East Anglia.
The army which had come to Fulenham [Fulham] passed over the
sea, and remained for one year at Ghent. Louis, king of the
Franks, the son of Charles the Great, died.
A.D. 881. When the same army came into France, it introduced
war, and had a taste of it. At this time many monasteries of the
Franks were devastated ; so much so, that the brethren of the
monastery of St. Benedict 1 took up his bones out of their tomb,
and wandered about hither and thither.
A.D. 882. The same army came into France by the river Meuse,
and there settled for the winter. King Alfred overcame the ships
of the pagans in a naval battle, and captured two of them.
A.D. 883. The army which has been already mentioned occupied
Cundoth,2 and committed depredations therein for one year. King
Alfred (as we have already mentioned), upon the death of Iwar and
Haldene, began to people those parts of Northumbria which had
been devastated. At this time St. Cuthbert appeared in a vision to
abbot Eadred, and commanded him to announce to the bishop,
and the whole nation of the Angles and Danes, that they should
redeem, by the payment of the purchase-money, Guthred, the son
of Ardecnut, whom the Danes had sold as a slave to a certain
widow woman at Witingeham,3 and should make him king over the
Northumbrians. This was done, and he reigned over York. Then
the see, which had formerly existed at Lindisfarne, was fixed at
Cuncacestre [Chester-le-Street] .
A.D. 884. Pope Marinus sent4 many presents to king Alfred,
amongst which was a small portion of the wood of our Lord's cross ;
and, out of his affection for him, he- freed the school of the Saxons
from all tribute and tax.
A.D. 885. The army of the pagans, which we have already men
tioned, was divided into two parts, of which one went into the
eastern part of France; the other, returning into England, laid
siege to Rochester ; but king Alfred drove them away, and raised
the siege. King Alfred sent a naval army for the defence of East
Anglia, and there sixteen piratical vessels were discovered and cap
tured at Sturemuth.5 On their return, however, they fell in with
a. large force of the pagans, and, having engaged them, they were
conquered. In the same year, while Charles, the king of the
Franks, was hunting, he was torn by the tusks of a wild boar, and
was succeeded by his brother Louis ; their father Louis was the
brother of the queen Judith, whom Athelwulf had married. Pope
Marinus died.
A.D. 886. The pagan army returned from the eastern part of
1 See Simeon of Durham, p. 477. 2 Conde sur 1'Escaut, in Holland.
3 Probably Whittingham, in the west of Northumberland, or perhaps Whit-
tingham in Haddingtonshire.
4 The Saxon Chronicle places this event a year earlier, but Simeon informs us
that it took place immediately before the death of the pope, which occurred in
384. The text is therefore correct.
5 Probably at Harwich.
94 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 886—
France into the western, and came to Paris by the river Seine; they
besieged the city for a whole year, but without any success. King
Alfred laid siege to the city of London, and took it; the Angles
flocked to him, and the Danes retreated. He entrusted Ethelred,
the earl of the Mercians, with the restoration of the city.
A.D. 887. Abandoning the city of Paris, the army of the pagans
went by the Seine to the Marne, and so to Caedzi [Chezy], and
they there spent a year in plundering ; and having entered the
mouth of the river Jorna [Yonne], they remained a year there, to
the great damage of the district. Charles, the king of the Franks,
was expelled from his kingdom by his brother's son, Ernulf ; forty
days after which he died. The kingdom of the Franks having been
hereupon divided into five parts, this same Ernulf obtained the
districts to the east of the river Rhine ; Rodulf had the midland
kingdom, Odo the western ; while Lombardy, and all the regions
on that side of the mountains, became the property of Brengar
and Wido.
A.D. 888. King Alfred built two monasteries: one for monks, in
the place called Eathelingeie ; the other for nuns, near the eastern
gate of Shaftsbury, and herein he placed, as its abbess, his daughter
Ethelgiva.
A.D. 889. Ethelred,1 archbishop of Canterbury, died, and Pleg-
mund succeeded.
A.D. 890.
A.D. 891. Godrun-Ethelstan, king of the East Angles, died.
A.D. 892. Wulfere, archbishop of York, died, in the thirty-ninth
year of his episcopate.
A.D. 893. The pagan king Hesteng entered the mouth of the
Thames with eighty ships, and erected a fortress for himself at
Middeltune.
A.D. 894.
A.D. 895.
A.D. 896.
A.D. 897. After having built some long and swift-sailing ships,
the army of the pagans pillaged the sea -coasts, and grievously
harassed the land of the West Saxons. To oppose these, king
Alfred caused other ships to be built, much larger and higher than
the former ; and having sent them to sea, they captured twenty of
the enemy's vessels, and killed their crews.
A.D. 898. Rollo, the first duke of the Normans, besieged Char-
tres ; but Walzelin,2 the bishop of the same city, issued forth,
bearing in his hands the tunic of St. Mary, and put Rollo to flight,
and delivered the city.
A.D. 899.
A.D. 900. Ethelbald, archbishop of York, was ordained.
A.D. 901. King Alfred died on the fifth of the kalends of No
vember [28th Oct.], in the thirtieth year of his reign, and was
buried at Winchester. He was succeeded by his son Edward, sur-
named the Elder, an efficient man ; who by force wrang from the
1 The dates of these events are obscure.
2 See Simeon of Durham, p. 499, note 2.
A.D. 916.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 95
hands of the Danes East Saxony, East Anglia, and very many pro
vinces of Mercia. His brother Athelwold, contrary to the wishes
both of the king and the people, took to wife a certain consecrated
virgin, and held Winburn against the king. Being driven from
thence, he departed into Northumbria, and there he was made
their king and their chief ruler. King Edward had four sons ; the
eldest was Athelstan, who was born of a most noble woman, named
Egwinna. By his queen Edgiva he had Edwin, Edmund, and
Edred : he had also four daughters — Eadburga the virgin ; the
second became the wife of Otto, the emperor of the Romans ;
the third married Charles, the king of the Franks ; the fourth
was the wife of Sihtric, the king of the Northumbrians. This
year died Earnulf,1 bishop of Lindisfarne, and was succeeded by
Cuthred.
A.D. 902.
A.D. 903. The holy priest Grimbald (who was also the master
of king Alfred), and Virgilius, the venerable abbot from Scotland,
and the powerful earl Athulf, the brother of queen Elswitha, the
wife of king Alfred, died.
A.D. 904. The men of Kent, having engaged with a multitude
of the Danish pirates at Holme, obtained the victory.
A.D. 905. The moon was fearfully obscured. That servant of
Christ, queen Elswitha, died ; it was she who built the monastery
for nuns at Wilton.
A.D. 906. The army of the pagans made peace with king Ed
ward. Rollo, called also Rodbert, the first duke of the Normans,
deceased, and was succeeded by his son William Longsword. A
comet appeared.
A.D. 907.
A.D. 908. Kaerlegion (now called Leicester) was rebuilt at the
command of king Edward. In this same year died Dofnald, king
of the Scots.
A.D. 909.
A.D. .910. The bones of the holy Oswald, king and martyr, were
translated from Bardeney into Mercia.
A.D. 911. A celebrated battle was fought between, the Angles
and Danes in the province of Stamford, at a place called Totenhall;
and at last the Angles obtained the victory.
A.D. 912. Ethelred, duke of the Mercians, died; after whom his
wife Aelfleda, the daughter of king Alfred, ruled the kingdom of
the Mercians.
A.D. 913. Aelfleda, the lady of the Mercians, built the borough
at Scoriate.
A.D. 914. Alfleda built Tameworthe. Sihtric slew king Moll.
A.D. 915. Werefrid, the holy bishop of the Wiccians (that is, of
Worcester), died, and was succeeded by Adelhun. Elfleda built
Edesbiri and Warewic.
A.D. 916. The most invincible king Edward received Bedford
into his power, and commanded a town to be built on the southern
1 The Chronicle of Melrose here differs from Simeon, who ascribes this bishop's
obit to the year 899.
96 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 917—
side of the river Ouse. Elfleda founded Chirebiri, Warebiri, and
Runcoven.1
A.D. 917. Elfleda sent an army into Wales; and after having
beaten the Welsh, she broke into Bretallanmere,2 where the wife of
the Welsh king was captured, along with twenty-four men, and
brought into Mercia.
A.D. 918. Elfleda stormed and took Derby, where she lost four
of her bravest generals.
A.D. 919. Elfleda took Leicester, and afterwards died at Tarn-
worth.
A. D. 920. King Edward disinherited Elfwinna, the daughter of
his sister Elfleda. In this year the king built Glademuth. King
Sihtric broke in upon Devonport. Charles, the king of the Franks,
who was also called Martell, the destroyer of churches, the son of
Louis, who was the son of Charles the Bald, died.
A. D. 921. These persons did homage to king Edward : the king
of the Scots, and his whole nation ; and Reinald, the king of the
Danes, who inhabit Northumbria ; and king Sihtric.
A.D. 922. King Egelward, the brother of king Edward, died.
Wilfrid succeeded Athelhun.
A.D. 923.
A.D. 924. That most invincible king of the Angles, the Danes,
the men of Cambria, and the Britons, Edward, by surname the
Elder, died, and was succeeded by his son Athelstan ; he was con
secrated by Athelm, the archbishop of Canterbury.
A.D. 925. The powerful king Athelstan gave his sister to Sihtric,
the king of the Northumbrians. Wigred, the bishop of Lindisfarne,
was consecrated.
A.D. 926. King Sihtric died, and Athetstan added his kingdom
to his own realm, after having driven out Guthferth, Sihtric's son.
He also conquered in battle Huwal, king of the Britons, and Con-
stantine, the king of the Scots, and Wuer, the king of the Wenti,
and put them to flight. They petitioned him for peace, and entered
into a treaty with him, which they confirmed with an oath.
A.D. 927.
A.D. 928.
A.D. 929. Kinewald succeeded Wilfrid, the bishop of the
Wiccians.
A.D. 930.
A.D. 931.
A.D. 932. During his own lifetime, St. Frithestan ordained in his
stead, as bishop of Winchester, that religious man, Brinstan.
A.D. 933. St. Frithestan died. Edwin, the brother of king
Athelstan, perished in the sea.
A.D. 934. King Athelstan ravaged Scotland, as far as Dunfoeder
and Wertermore, with an army by land, and with his naval forces
as far as Catenes, because Constantine had violated the treaty into
which he had entered. St. Brinstan, bishop of Winchester, died.
1 Now Cherbury in Shropshire, "Wardborough in Oxfordshire, and Runcorn in
Cheshire, all within Mercia.
2 Brecenan-mere, Saxon Chron. ; Brycenan-mere, Simeon of Durham ; probably
Breknock-mere, situated about two miles from Breknock.
A.D. 946.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 97
A.D. 935. Elphege, a monk, and the relative of the blessed
Dunstan, received the bishopric of Winchester.
A.D. 936. Anlaf, king of Ireland, entered the mouth of the river
Humber with six hundred and fifteen ships ; he was met at Bru-
nanburch by king Athelstan and his brother Edmund, where a
battle was fought, in which five kings and seven dukes fell, and
they [the English] returned with triumph.
A.D. 937.
A.D. 938.
A.D. 939. Ralph, the king of the Franks, the son of Conrad,
duke of Burgundy, died.
A.D. 940. King Athelstan died on the sixth1 of the kalends of
November, on the fourth day of the week, and in the fourteenth
indiction ; he was buried at Malmesbury, and was succeeded by his
brother Edmund.
A.D. 941. Casting off the fealty which they had sworn to Ed
mund, the Northumbrians chose as their own king Anlaf, king of
the Norwegians. He came to Hampton [Southampton], and be
sieged it ; but prevailing nothing, he marched his army to Tam-
worth, and, having pillaged the whole country, he was on his
return, when he was encountered by king Edmund, and they
immediately would have joined in battle, had not the two arch
bishops, Odo and Wulstan, appeased them. So peace was made,
and Wathlingestrete was fixed as the limit of each kingdom. Im
mediately after having burnt and plundered the church of St.
Baldred, in Tiningham,2 Anlaf died. The son of Sihtric, also named
Anlaf, reigned in the stead of his father.
A.D. 942. King Edmund took five cities, namely, Lincoln, Not
tingham, Derby, Leicester, and Stamford, entirely out of the hands
of the Danes.
A.D. 943. When Elfgiva, the holy queen of king Edmund, gave
birth to Edgar, St. Dunstan — at that time abbot of Glastonbury,
but afterwards bishop of Winchester — heard voices singing on high,
and saying, " Peace to the church of the Angles in the time of our
St. Dunstan, and the boy now born ! " In the same year king
Edmund, after having overcome by force king Anlaf, the son of
Sihtric, gave credence to his professions, and received him from
the holy laver [of baptism], and afterwards stood for king Reinold,
while he was being confirmed by the bishop. Constantine, king 01
the Scots, died.
A.D. 944. King Edmund expelled Anlaf and Remold out of
Northumbria, because they broke the peace into which they had
entered with him.
A.D. 945. King Edmund ravaged the land of the Cumbrians;
and, after having reduced it for himself, he gave it into the keeping
of Malcolm, king of the Scots,
A.D. 946. Edmund, the illustrious king of the Angles, while he
was engaged in attempting to succour his steward, who was in
1 The dates here given enable us to decide with certainty that Athelstan died
upon Wednesday, 27th October, 941.
2 The church of St. Baldred, at Tinningham, in Lothian. See Fordun, i. 134.
VOL, IV. H
CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 946—
danger of being killed by a wicked robber named Leof, was himself
slain by that person, at Widechirche, upon the third 1 day of the
week, being the day of St. Augustine, the teacher of the Angles, in
the fourth indiction, and was buried at Glastonbury. His brother
Edred succeeded him, and was consecrated by St. Odo, the arch
bishop. In the same year he obtained possession of Northumbria,
which had rebelled against him ; and the Scots submitted to him
without righting,
A.D. 947. Anlaf, who had been driven from the kingdom of
Northumbria, returned with a fleet, and was restored to the realm.
A. D. 948. The Northumbrians cast off Anlaf, and swore fealty to
Edred, the king of the Angles ; but they did not long preserve it.
A.D. 949. The Northumbrians (who do not know what it is to
keep faith) appointed one Eyrie, of Danish descent, to be king
over them.
A.D. 950. Edred, the king of the Angles, ravaged Northumber
land ; and in this devastation the monastery which St. Wilfrid had
built at Ripon was burnt down. The Northumbrians, in their fear,
cast off Eyrie, the son of Harold, whom they had constituted their
king. He was the last of their kings, and after him came earls ; 2
the first of whom was Osulf, with whom Oslac was afterwards asso
ciated. The elder Walleve succeeded ; after whom came his son
Uhtred, and after Uhtred came his brother Edolf-Cudel, and after
him his brother Aldred. He was succeeded by Eadulf, the son of
Cospatric, the son of the Uhtred already mentioned. To Eadulf
succeeded Siward, and after him Tosti, the brother of king Harold ;
then came Morkar, who entrusted the earldom to Osulf, the son of
earl Edulf ; upon the expulsion of whom, Cospi succeeded, and
after him Cospatric, the son of Maldred. This Cospatric was the
son of Maldred, by Aldgitha, the daughter of earl Uhctred, and
Elfgiva, the daughter of king Ethelred. This Cospatric was the
father of Dolfin, Walleve, and Cospatric. After him, the earldom
was given to Waltheve, the son of earl Siward. When Waltheve
was taken prisoner, the earldom was entrusted to the care of
bishop Walcher ; upon whose death, the king gave the earldom to
Albius ; but he having returned home to his country, Robert de
Moubrai succeeded. Upon his capture, the kings themselves hence
forth retained the earldom in their own hands ; first of all, William
the younger, then Henry, afterwards Stephen, and after him Henry
the Second.
A. D. 951 . St. Elphege,3 bishop of Winchester, was removed from
this world ; his successor was Elfsi.
A. D. 952. Edred, king of the Angles, placed Wulstan, archbishop
of York, in the closest custody.
A.D. 953. Upon the release of Wulstan from his confinement,
the honour of the episcopate was restored to Dorchester.
1 Tuesday, 26th May, A.D. 946.
2 This account of the earls of Northumberland is abridged from Simeon of
Durham.
3 The chronology again returns to that of the Saxon Chronicle, from which
authority we learn that the obit occurred upon 12th March.
A.D. 963.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 99
A.D. 954. Edred, the king of the Angles, being sick, sent for
St. Dunstan the abbot, his confessor. As he was on his way to
the palace, a voice sounded in his ears, which said, " King Edred
now rests in peace." His horse, unable to bear this voice, fell to
the ground, and died. The king was buried at Winchester, and
was succeeded by Edwy, the son of his brother Edmund, by the
holy queen Ealfgiva ; he was consecrated by archbishop Odo.
A.D. 955.
A. D. 956. The blessed abbot Dunstan, having been proscribed
by king Edwy, for the cause of justice, passed over the sea, and
spent the period of his banishment in the monastery which is
called Blandinum. Wulstan, archbishop of York, died, and was
succeeded by Oskitell.
A.D. 957- The people of Mercia and Northumberland, despising
king Edwy, chose his brother Edgar, who forthwith recalled the
blessed Dunstan from his exile, and upon the decease of Kinewald
he gave him the bishopric of Worcester, and he was consecrated
by archbishop Odo. Louis, the king of the Franks, died ; he was
the son of king Ralph, and was succeeded by Lothaire. The
dominical letter was D.
A. D. 958. St. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, departed to Christ.
He was succeeded by Elflius,1 the bishop of Winchester, in whose
stead Brihtelm was ordained.
A.D. 959. Elfsy, archbishop of Canterbury, died from exposure
to the severity of the cold, while he was in the Alpine mountains,
being at that time on his way to Rome to procure his pall. In the
same year died king Edwy, and was buried at Winchester; and his
brother Edgar became monarch of the whole of England, being
then in the seventeenth year of his age, five hundred and ten years
after the arrival of the Angles in Britain, and three hundred and
sixty-three years from that of St. Augustine. In this same year
Brihtelm, bishop of the people of Dorset, was elected to the pri
macy of the see of Canterbury ; but appearing to be somewhat
inefficient, he returned to his own diocese at the king's command.
Hereupon the blessed Dunstan, bishop of Worcester, by God's
will and at the instigation of the counsellors, was appointed primate
and patriarch of the Angles. Profiting much by his teaching and
learning, king Edgar expelled the trifling secular clerks from their
abodes, and appointed forty monasteries of monks.
A.D. 960. St. Dunstan, having gone to Rome, in the third in-
diction, obtained the pall from pope John; and on his return he
procured from the king, by his entreaties, that the humble monk
Oswald (the cousin of his predecessor Odo) should be ordained
bishop of the see of Worcester ; and so the holy man Oswald was
consecrated by the blessed Dunstan.
A.D. 961. Indulf, the king of the Scots, was killed.
A.D. 962.
A.D. 963. The venerable abbot Aethelwold, who had been brought
up by the blessed Dunstan, succeeded Brihtelm in the episcopal
see of Winchester. At the command of king Edgar, St. Adelwold
1 A clerical error for Elfsius. See the following year.
H2
100 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 964- -
expelled the clerks and introduced monks into the old monastery
of Winchester.
A.D. 964. The peaceful king of the Angles, Edgar, took to wife
the daughter of Ordgar, the duke of Devonshire, Elsthrida by
name ; by whom he had two sons, Edmund and Egelred. By
Elfleda the Fair, the daughter of duke Ordmer, he had previously
had Edward (who was afterwards king and martyr), and by St.
Wultritha he had Edgitha, a virgin dedicated to God. In the
same year king Edgar placed monks in New Minster and Middilton,
and appointed as their abbots Etelgar and Kineard respectively.
A.D. 965. Duf, the king of the Scots, was slain.
A.D. 966.
A.D. 967. King Edgar placed nuns (and St. Merwinna as their
abbess) in the monastery of Rumsey, which had been built by his
grandfather, king Edward.
A. D. 968. Bishop Aldred died at St. Cuthbert's, in Conkecestre;
he was succeeded by Elfly.1 The Sunday letter was D.
A.D. 969. That peaceful king of the English, Edgar, gave in
junctions to his holy bishops, Dunstan of Canterbury, Oswald of
Worcester, and Etelwold,2 that they should expel the clerks and
introduce monks into the larger monasteries throughout Mercia.
In the execution of this order, St. Oswald placed monks in the
church of Worcester, and placed over them the religious man
Wisin. Culenus, the king of the Scot's, was slain.
A.D. 970. St. Ethelwold the bishop raised from the tomb the
relics of St. Swithun, and most affectionately deposited them in the
church of the apostles St. Peter and Paul.
A.D. 971. Edmund the etheling, the son of king Edgar, died;
likewise Ordgar, duke of Devonshire, the father-in-law of the king.
The former of these was buried in the monastery of Rumsey, and
the second was buried with much honour at Exeter.
A.D. 972. Oshitell, archbishop of York, died, and was succeeded
by his kinsman Oswald, bishop of Worcester, who received the pall
from pope Stephen.
A.D. 973. The peaceful king of England, Edgar, was consecrated
as the first king of the whole island of Britain, at the city Acca-
manni,3 by the blessed prelates Dunstan and Oswald, and by the
other bishops of the whole of England, with the greatest honour
and glory. No long time afterwards he sailed round the northern
part of Britain with an immense fleet, and landed at the city of
Chester, where he had directed that he should be met by eight
inferior kings ; namely, Kineth, the king of the Scots ; Malcolm,
king of the Cumbrians ; and Maccus, the king of many of the
islands ; and five others, that is to say, Dufnal, Sifert, Huwal,
Jacob, and Ulkil; who should make oath that they would be faith
ful to him, and would assist him by land and sea. He entered into
a boat with them one day; and when they had taken their places at
the oars, he assumed the rudder, and skilfully steered through the
stream of the river De, while they sailed from the palace to the
1 Aelfsig, or Elfsi, in Simeon of Durham. 2 He was bishop of Winchester.
3 Akemannes-ceastre, Saxon Chronicle ; now Bath.
A.D. 976.] • CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 101
monastery of St. John the Baptist, attended by a large company of
dukes and nobles, who also went by water. Here he made an
address to them, and then sailed back to his palace with the same
pomp ; and as he entered into it, he is reported to have remarked
to his nobles, that now at length it might be allowed to all his suc
cessors to boast that at last he had become monarch of England,
when he could make such honourable processions, and had so
many kings to minister to him.
A.D. 974. A very great earthquake occurred throughout all
England.
A.D. 975. The peace-loving king Edgar, — the monarch of the
English realm, the flower and the honour of its kings, no less
remarkable among the English than was Romulus among the
Romans, Cyrus among the Persians, Alexander among the Mace
donians, Charles the Great among the Franks, or Arthur among
the Britons — after having done all that it became a prince to do,
departed from this life on the eighth of the ides of July, in the
thirty-second year of his age, and left Edward (afterwards king and
martyr) the heir of his kingdom and his virtues. His body was
carried to Glastonbury, and there buried in kingly manner. During
his lifetime he had assembled three thousand six hundred stout
ships ; and each year, after Easter, it was his custom to collect
one thousand two hundred on the eastern coast of the island, as
many on the western, and as many on the southern. He then used
to sail towards the west in the eastern fleet ; and having dismissed
it, he then went northwards with the western squadron ; which
having been sent homewards, he then returned in the northern to
the eastern fleet. By this arrangement, he sailed round the whole
island every summer ; and his object in doing this was to defend
his kingdom against internal disturbances, and to exercise his men
in warlike occupations. During the time of winter and spring, it
was his wont to travel throughout all the provinces of England,
and diligently to investigate how the laws and statutes which had
been decreed were observed by his chief men, lest the poor should
be wrongfully oppressed, and their suits prejudged by their stronger
neighbours. In the former of these customs he showed himself an
encourager of fortitude, in the other of justice, and in both he
exhibited his regard for the interests of the state and the kingdom.
Phis caused fear everywhere to his enemies, and increased the love
which was borne to him by all his subjects. The whole condition
of the kingdom was disturbed by his decease, and, after the peaceful
:ime of rejoicing which had extended throughout the whole of
lis reign, distress began to spring up everywhere. There was
i great dispute about the thrusting of the monks from the monas-
eries, and the choice of a king ; but at last, by the instrumentality
)f the archbishops Dunstan and Oswald, and other catholic men,
vho resisted the opposition made against the monks, they were
ible firmly to retain their possessions. Edward the etheling was
•onsecrated king, as his father had directed ; and, for the time, his
>rother Eilred was passed by. A comet appeared this autumn.
A.D. 976.
102 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 977-
A.D. 977. A very great synod was held in East Anglia, at a towr
called Kireling.1 Afterwards, while another synod was sitting a
Calne, the elders of the whole of England who were there assembled
with the exception of St. Dunstan, fell from the upper chamber
Some of them were killed, and some of them escaped the peril o
death with difficulty.
A.D. 978. Edward, king of England, was secretly stabbed witl
a dagger by the orders of his step-mother, queen Alstritha, at i
place called Corvesgate ; and so was unjustly slain by his owi
people. He was buried at Werham, in a fashion unbecoming
a king. His brother Eldred, the illustrious etheling, (of elegan
manners, a beautiful countenance, and comely presence,) was con
secrated king at Kingistun, after the festival of Easter, upon Sunday
the eighteenth of the kalends of May [14th April], by the hoh
archbishops Dunstan and Oswald, and ten bishops. He held th<
kingdom for thirty-eight years, in many calamities, and this or
account of the murder of his brother, whom his mother hac
wickedly slain. The blessed Dunstan had openly prophesied (foi
he was full of the spirit of prophecy) that these troubles wouk
happen to him in his kingdom, using these words : " Inasmuch ai
thou hast aspired to the kingdom by the death of thy brother
whom thy mother ignominiously slew, therefore hear thou the wore
of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord : The sword shall not depart fron
thy house, but shall rage against thee all the days of thy life, anc
shall slay thy seed, until thy kingdom shall be transferred into
another kingdom, the service and language of which the natioi
over which thou rulest knoweth not ; nor shall thy sin, nor the sii
of thy mother, nor the sins of the men who entered with thee int<
this wicked counsel, be expiated save by a long punishment.1
Therefore, after this there appeared over the whole of England, a
midnight, a cloud, at one time like blood, at another time like fire
and afterwards it separated itself into various rays, and assume*
divers colours, and then disappeared altogether about the daw:
of day.
A.D. 979. Pope John died, and was succeeded by Benedict
Ailtritha, formerly the queen, and the murderess of St. Edward th
king, in her repentance, built two monasteries, Warewelle an
Ambresbiri. Elfere, the duke of the Mercians, came to Werran
with a great multitude of people, and gave orders that the body e
St. Edward, the king and martyr, should be taken up from tf
tomb, whereat many miracles had been performed. When tt
earth was removed, it was discovered that the body was whole ar
entire from every wound and corruption ; and, after having bee
washed and clothed in new garments, it was conveyed to Scatesbiri
and there honourably buried.
A.D. 980. Pope Benedict died, and was succeeded by Dionysiu
the one hundred and fortieth pope. Southampton was pillaged 1
1 The name of this locality occurs in many different forms in the earlier writer
Spelman believes that the meeting occurred at Kirtling, in Cambridgeshii
but Gibson prefers the claims of Kirtlington, in Oxford. As it was situat
within the kingdom of East Auglia, the former seems the more probable" local!
2 Shaffcesbury.
A.D. 991.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 103
the Danish pirates, and nearly all its citizens were either killed or
carried away into captivity. Afterwards the island of Tenethland,
and the province of the city of Legions,1 were destroyed by these
Norwegian freebooters.
A.D. 981. The monastery of St. Petroc the confessor, in Corn
wall, was consumed by these same pirates, who made frequent
descents on the sea- coasts in Cornwall and Devonshire.
A.D. 982. Pope Dionysius died, and was succeeded by Boniface;
but he dying in the same year, Benedict became pope. Four
piratical vessels landed at Porland, and devastated the provinces of
the people of Dorset. The city of London was destroyed by fire.
A.D. 983. Elfere, the duke of the Mercians, the kinsman of
Edgar, king of England, died, and his son Alfric took the duchy.
A.D. 984. St. Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, departed to
Christ, on the kalends of August [1st Aug.], and was succeeded by
St. Elf eg, abbot of Bath. He assumed the religious garb in the
monastery of Horehirst.2
A.D. 985.
A.D. 986. Eldred, the king of the English, in consequence of
some disagreements, laid siege to the city of Rochester ; but gain
ing nothing, he departed thence in anger, and ravaged the lands of
St. Andrew the Apostle. Elfric, the duke of the Mercians, the son
of duke Elfere, was expelled from England.
A.D. 987. Lothaire, the king of the Franks, died ; his successor
was Louis. A fever among the men, and a murrain among the
cattle, (which was called in English, " Stric,"3) fearfully ravaged
the whole of England.
A.D. 988. The Danish pirates plundered Wecedport ; but they
were attacked by the men of Devonshire, and the English, at the
last, remained in possession of the field of battle ; but they lost
their chief leader,4 and a very brave soldier named Strenwold, along
with many others. St. Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, de
parted to the Lord ; he was succeeded by Etelgar, bishop of Selsey,
who filled it for one year and three months. Louis,5 the miserable
king of the Franks, died, and was succeeded by Hugh, the son of
Hugh Caphet.
A.D. 989.
A.D. 990. Elfly, the bishop of St. Cuthbert, at Cunakecestre,
died ; his successor was Aldwin.
A.D. 991. Edelhre, archbishop of Canterbury, dying, his suc
cessor was Siricius. Gipewic was pillaged by the Danes ; and on
this occasion Britwold, the valiant duke of the Eastern Angles, was
slain, along with a countless multitude on both sides. The Danes
obtained the victory near Meldun. In this year also, by the advice
1 Kaerlegion, or Caerlion, now Chester. 2 A clerical error for Deorhyrst.
" Scitta vocatur, Latine autem fluxus interraneorum dici potest," is the cor
responding statement of Simeon.
4 Simeon and our Chronicle have here mistaken the statement of the Peter
borough recension of the Saxon Chronicle, from which it appears that Goda was
a Dane.
5 Louis V., surnamed le Faindant, died upon 21st May, (Veley, i. 237,) and \vys
succeeded by Hugh Capet. See Bouquet, x. 285, 548.
104 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 991—
of Siricius, archbishop of Canterbury, and the other nobles, tribute
was paid to the Danes for the first time, upon condition that they
would observe a strict peace : it amounted to ten thousand pounds.
St. Oswald, the archbishop, dedicated the monastery of Ramsey,
which had been erected by himself, and that friend of God, Ethel-
win, the duke of the East Angles.
A.D. 992. St. Oswald the archbishop passed to the Lord, on
the day before the kalends of March [29th Feb.], while (according
to the usual custom) he was observing the Maunday before the feet
of the poor. He was buried in the church of St. Mary, which he
had erected from its foundations. His successor was Adulf, abbot
of Medeshamstede [Peterborough]. Duke Ethelwin died.
A.D. 993. The army of the Danes broke into Baembrac [Barn-
borough], and plundered it ; and afterwards consumed the greater
part of Lindsey and Northumberland.
A.D. 994. Pope Benedict died, and was succeeded by John ;
who dying in the same year, another of the same name followed.
Anlaf, king of the Norwegians, and Suane, king of the Danes, came
to London with ninety-four vessels ; but they were repelled by the
citizens, yet not without great loss to their own troops. Hereupon,
in their fury, they ravaged the whole of England, sparing neither
sex nor age, and employed fire and sword like madmen. A tribute
of sixteen thousand pounds was paid to them. After this, king
Eilred took as his adopted son king Anlaf, he having been confirmed
by St. Elf eg, and sent him back into his own country, whence he
was not to return. Richard,1 the first duke of the Normans, died,
and was succeeded by his son Richard.
A.D. 995. Bishop Aldun translated the body of St. Cuthbert
from Chester to Durham. Pope John died, and was succeeded by
another John.
A.D. 996. Siricius, archbishop of Canterbury, died; he expelled
the clerks from out of Kent, and introduced monks. Alfric was
consecrated as archbishop of Canterbury.
A.D. 997. The Danish army, which had remained in England,
destroyed the greater portion of several provinces, slaughtered
many of the inhabitants, and burnt the monastery of Tavistoke,
and then returned to the ships, laden with immense booty. They
passed the winter in the same place.
A.D. 998. The army of the pagans (which we have already men
tioned) having been driven to the mouth of the river Fronte,2
devastated by far the larger part of Dorsetshire, and paid frequent
visits to the Isle of Wight. An army was frequently assembled
to oppose such a calamity, but it miserably and unfortunately
happened that the enemy were the victors.
A.D. 999. The army of the pagans entered the mouth of the
Thames, and passing up the river Medway, proceeded to Rochester,
and laid siege to it for a few days, and there they carried on a sharp
war with the men of Kent, but the enemies were victorious. Here
upon they ravaged nearly the whole of the western portion of Kent.
1 He died 20th Nov. 996. See L'Art de Veref. les Dates, xiii. 9, ed. 8vo.
2 From-muth, Sax. Chron. ; Frome, Sim. Durh.
A.D. 1005.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 105
A. D. 1000. The Danish fleet went to Normandy. Eilred, the king
of the English, depopulated almost the entire land of the Cum
brians. Hugh, the king of the Franks, the son of Hugh Capeth,
died, and was succeeded by his son Robert.
A.D. 1001. The army of the pagans, having returned from Nor
mandy to England, entered the mouth of the river [Exe],1 and
unsuccessfully attempted to take the city of Exeter; whereupon,
being exceedingly incensed, they wandered through Devonshire,
according to their usual custom burning down towns, ravaging the
country, and murdering the inhabitants ; upon this, the men of
Devonshire and Somersetshire having united their forces, engaged
them in battle ; but the English giving way, and taking to flight,
the enemy were victorious.
A. D. 1002. Eilred, the king of the English, having taken counsel
with his people, determined upon paying twenty-four thousand
pounds, in order that .he might have peace. In the same year king
Eilred married Emma (who in English is called Elfgiva), the
laughter of Richard, the first duke of the Normans. Adulf,
irchbishop of York, raised from the tomb the bones of his prede
cessor, St. Oswald, and placed them honourably in a shrine ; and not
ong afterwards he died, and was succeeded by abbot Wulstan.
A.D. 1003. Suane, the king of the Danes, broke into Exeter,
md plundered it, and destroyed its wall ; and then they attacked
he province of Wiltshire. Upon this the inhabitants of Wiltshire
.nd Hampshire assembled together like men of courage ; and just as
hey were about to engage with the enemy, duke Alfric began to
nake himself sick, and, in the excess of his sluggish cowardice, he
rew frightened, and so they turned away from the foe without
ghting. Perceiving this, Suane and his army destroyed WTilton
nd Salisbury by fire, and then returned to his ships.
A. D. 1004. Suane, the king of the Danes, went by sea to Nor-
ich, which he pillaged and burnt. Thereupon Ulfketel, the bold
arl of the East Anglians, who had come up unexpectedly, finding
lat there was no room for his troops to engage those of the enemy,
mde peace with them, after deliberating the matter with his own
sople ; but it was shortly after violated by the king of the Danes,
ho burnt Thetford. Ulfketel, when he understood this, collected
is army, and boldly attacked the enemy ; many fell on both sides,
id the Danes escaped with difficulty ; and (as they themselves
Imitted) they had never experienced a sharper attack while in
ngland. Pope John died, and was succeeded by Gregory.
A. D. 1005. A severe famine overrun England, upon which
:iane, the Danish king, returned to Denmark, but his absence was
be of no long duration. Pope Gregory died, and was succeeded
T John, who, dying in the same year, had for his successor Sil-
; ;ster, named also Gerbert. It is reported that this Gerbert did
>mage to the devil, in order that by this means he might attain
:: ito the honours of this world ; whereupon it was said, "Gerbert
: vances from R. to R., and becomes a successful pope R." The
1 This word, accidentally omitted by the scribe, is supplied from the Saxon
ronicle and Simeon.
106 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1005—
meaning of this is, that he was promoted from the archbishopric
of Rheims to that of the city of Ravenna, which at that time
stood very high among the sees, and then at last he attained
the supreme dignity of the Roman chair. It is further reported
that at a later time the stings of his conscience, and some bodily
affliction, so goaded him, that he cut off his hands and feet, and
threw them as an offering to the devil, and so the mutilated trunk
which remained died, and he was canonized as a saint.
A.D. 1006. Alfric, archbishop of Canterbury, died, and was suc
ceeded by Elfeg, bishop of Winchester, in whose stead Kenulf was
appointed bishop. The Danish fleet came to England, and ravaged
all by fire and sword ; for after having devastated Kent, Sussex,
the province of Hampshire, and Berkshire, they returned to their
ships with their booty.
A.D. 1007. Pope Silvester died, and was succeeded by John.
Compelled by necessity, king Eilred undertook to pay to the
Danes an annual tribute of thirty-six thousand pounds, in order
that the peace might be henceforth observed. In this year also the
king appointed as duke of the Mercians, Edric, surnamed Streone,
who (although he was the king's own son-in-law) was a traitor,
and afterwards betrayed his country.
A. D. 1008. Pope John died, and was succeeded by another John.
King Eilred strictly commanded that ships should be built every
where through England, that he might defend his own kingdom
from the inroads of foreigners.
A.D. 1009. Pope John died, and was succeeded by pope
Sergius. Earl Turkill, with his fleet, and Hem ing and Ailaf, with
a countless army of Danes, landed at the island of Tenetland
[Thanet] ; and as they were about to storm the city of Canterbury,
the inhabitants surrendered, as did those of the eastern parts of
Kent, and gave them three thousand pounds to have a firm peace.
Afterwards king Eiired would have had a complete triumph over
them, had not the perfidious duke Edric prevented it.
A. D. 1010. The same Danish army devastated nearly the whole
of the southern part of England as far as Lincolnshire, burning all
as they advanced ; and (alas ! that we must record it) they gained
a victory over the East Angles l in battle.
A. D. 1011. Pope Sergius died, and was succeeded by Benedict.
The Danes miserably destroyed the city of Canterbury with fire
and sword, and took prisoner St. Elfeg, the archbishop, and
Godwin, bishop of Rochester, and the abbess Leofruna,2 aftei
having plundered the cathedral of Christ Church ; they also cap
tured Elfrid, the king's provost, and monks, and clerks, and z
countless multitude of both sexes of the common people. St. Elfe§
was kept in chains, and exposed to various insults ; and after having
been severely wounded, he was carried off to the fleet, thrust intc
prison, and there kept in misery for seven months. Monks, men
women, and children, were decimated ; that is, nine were put t(
1 At Ipswich, upon 18th May.
2 She was abbess of St. Mildred's church at Canterbury. See Gervase, co] j
1649.
A.D. 1016.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 107
death, the tenth was saved.1 Those who escaped were in all four
monks and eight hundred men. In the meantime the anger of God
raged upon this murderous people, for two thousand of them died
from a certain painful disorder of the bowels ; but neither yet did
they make satisfaction to God and his high priest.
A.D. 1012. Edric Streona, that treacherous duke, and all the chief
men of England, assembled at London, and paid to the Danes the
tribute of forty-eight thousand pounds,2 which had been promised.
While this was going on, on the holy Saturday before Easter Sunday
[12th April], the Danes made this proposition to St. Elf eg, that if
he wished to save his life and recover his liberty, he must pay three
thousand pounds. This he refused to do, and they reserved his
murder for the following Saturday. On its arrival, they, in the
fury of their spirit, drunken with excess of wine, dragged him out
of his prison to their place of assemblage ; they struck him with
the back of their axes, they nearly bury him under the stones,
bones, and heads of oxen, with which they assail him. At length,
one of them named Trum (whom he had confirmed the day before),
moved with a kind of cruel pity, dashed his hatchet into the arch
bishop's head, who forthwith fell asleep in the Lord. On the
following day his body was conveyed to London, and was honour
ably buried in the church of St. Paul, by Elnoth, bishop of Lincoln,
and Alfun of London, and by the citizens.
A.D. 1013. 3 St. Edmund, in his armour, slew in a discussion, at
Gainesburc, that tyrant and blasphemer, Suane, who saw his assail
ant, and cried out as he saw him. Upon his death, the Danish
fleet appointed [as king] his son Cnut ; but the elders of England
recalled from Normandy, Elred as their king.
A.D. 1014. Leving received the archbishopric of Canterbury.
Suane, king of the Danes, arrived in England with a powerful
fleet, and, like a possessed madman, he ravaged nearly the whole of
England, and reduced it under his own power, and received its
hostages. Perceiving this, king Eilred, with his wife and children,
went to Normandy to duke Richard.
A.D. 1015. King Eilred beginning to sicken, his son Edmund
Ironside had the charge of the kingdom ; but many gave hostages
to Cnut, who was occupied in a general plundering, and, among
others, the traitor Edric made submission.
A.D. 1016. King Eilred, the bishops, abbots, and the more noble
of the English people, chose Cnut as their king ; but the citizens
of London, and a portion of the nobility, elevated Edmund Iron
side to that dignity. He engaged in battle with Cnut on six
occasions, and at almost each time he was the conqueror ; and so
peace being made between him and Cnut, they divided England
between themselves. But some traitor or other, who had hidden
himself beneath the privy house to which Edmund had retired for
1 See the account given by Thome, col. 1781.
2 According to the MSS. C and D of the Saxon Chronicle ; but E and F say
eight thousand pounds. Here, as elsewhere, our Chronicle follows Simeon.
3 The order in which the incidents of this and the succeeding year are mentioned
is to be transferred.
108 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1017—
the necessary purposes of nature, stabbed him near the private
parts, which were^at that time bared, and he died.1
A.D. 1017. King Cnut, the son of Suane, received the rule of
the whole of England ; and after Edwin the etheling, the brother
of king Edmund, had been put to death, he sent Edmund and
Aedward, the sons of the same king, to the king of the Suavi,
that they should be murdered. But he, being unwilling to kill
these innocent youths, sent them to Salomon, the king of Hungary,
that they might be brought up by him. In the course of time Ed
mund died there, but Edward took to wife Agatha, the daughter of
the German emperor, Henry, by whom he became the father of
Margaret, who was afterwards the queen of the Scots, Christina
the nun, and Aedgar the etheling. King Cnut married Emma,
who had formerly been queen, by whom he had Hardecnut, who
afterwards became king of the Danes and Angles, and a daughter,
Gunnilda, who afterwards married Henry, the emperor of the
Remans.
A.D. 1018. At Christmas king Cnut caused the traitorous duke
Edric Streona to be put to death in the palace, being apprehensive
that at some time or other he would be entrapped by him, as his
former masters, Eagelred and Eadmund, had frequently been. He
directed, moreover, that his dead body should be exposed upon the
city wall, and then cast down without burial. Three other innocent
persons, the noble sons of dukes, were put to death. Aldun,
bishop of Durham, died. A great battle was fought at Carham 2
between the English and the Scots. The Angles and the Danes
came to an agreement at Oxford, that the law of king Edgar
should be observed.
A.D. 1019. Cnut, the king of the English and of the Danes,
went to Denmark, and remained there during the whole winter.
A.D. 1020. Upon his return to England, king Cnut held a great
council at Cirecestre at Easter [17th April]. Edmund became
bishop of Durham. Living, archbishop of Canterbury, died, and
was succeeded by Agelnoth, who was called the Good.
A. D. 1021. Algar, the bishop of the East Angles, died ; his suc
cessor was Aldwin.
A.D. 1022. Archbishop Agelnoth went to Rome, and received
his pall from pope Benedict.
A.D. 1023. The body of the blessed Elpheg the martyr was
translated from London to Canterbury. Wulstan, archbishop of
York, died, and was succeeded by Alfric, the provost of Win
chester.
A.D. 1024 and 1025. Nothing worthy of remembrance oc
curred. Pope Benedict died, and was succeeded by John.
A.D. 1026. Alfric, archbishop of York, went to Rome, and re
ceived the pall from pope John. Richard the Second, the duke of
the Normans, died, and was succeeded by Richard the Third, who,
dying in the same year, had for his successor his brother Rodbert.
1 This story does not occur in either the Saxon Chronicle or Simeon, but it is
to be found in Henry of Huntingdon, Bromton, and Knyghton.
2 Probably at Carham upon the Tweed.
A.D. 1037.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 109
A.D. 1027. King Cnut blinded the eyes of the Norwegians with
an abundance of gold and silver, while they lightly esteemed their
own king Olave, on account of his sanctity.
A.D. 1028. King Cnut went to Norway with fifty large ships,
and having expelled king Olave thence, he subjugated it for
himself.
A.D. 1029- Cnut, the king of the Angles, Danes, and Nor
wegians, returned to England.
A.D. 1030. St. Olave, the king and martyr, the son of Harold,
king of the Norwegians, whom king Cnut had expelled, having
returned into Norway, was unrighteously killed by the Norwegians.
A.D. 1031. King Cnut having gone [to Rome]1 with great
honour, offered enormous gifts in gold and silver to St. Peter, and
obtained from pope John the freedom of the school of the Angles.
A.D. 1032. The church of St. Edmund, king and martyr, was
dedicated, in which king Cnut (by the general advice of his bishops
and nobles) had placed monks, after having expelled the secular
priests. A fire which could scarce be extinguished burnt up
many places throughout England. Aelfsige, bishop of Winchester,
died, and was succeeded by Aelfwine, the king's priest.
A. D. 1033. Leofsi, a man of great religion, the bishop of the
Wiccians, died ; his successor was Britheg, abbot of Persore.
A.D. 1034. Malcolm, the king of the Scots, died, and his
nephew, Dunecan, succeeded him.
A.D. 1035. Before his death, Cnut, the king of the Angles,
appointed his son Suane as king over the Norwegians; over the
Danes he placed Hardecnut as king (he was the son of queen
Emma), and over the English he placed Harold, who was his son
by Aelgiva of Hampshire ; and having done this, he died, on the
second of the ides of November [12th Nov.], at Shaftesbury, and
was buried in the Old Monastery at Winchester, with due honour.
But not long afterwards the kingdom of England was divided
between Harold and Hardecnut. Rodbert, duke of the Normans,
died, and was succeeded by his son, William the Bastard, then
a youth.
A. D. 1036. The innocent ethelings, Alwred and Aedward, the
sons of king Aegelred, came to England from their uncle Richard,
that they might have some conversation with their mother. Some
of their companions earl Godwin put in chains, and afterwards
blinded them ; he tortured some by tearing off the skin from their
heads, some he maimed by cutting off their hands and feet, he
sold many as slaves, and six hundred of them he put to several
kinds of miserable deaths, at Gelgdeford [Guilford]. Having ob
tained possession of Alfred by treachery, he commanded his eyes
to be plucked out at Ely, shortly after which he died. Hereupon
Edward returned into Normandy with all speed. Rodbert, the
king of the Franks, the son of Hugh, died a holy death, and was
succeeded by his son, Henry.
A.D. 1037- Harold, king of the Mercians and Northumbrians,
was elected to reign over the whole of England by the nobility
1 Supplied from the Saxon Chronicle and Simeon of Durham.
HO CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1037—
and peopie, who passed over his brother, Hardecnut, because he
spent too much of his time in Denmark. Emma, who had for
merly been queen, being cruelly expelled from England, was
honourably received by Aldwin, earl of Flanders.
A.D. 1038. Aegelnoth, [arch] bishop of Canterbury, died; on the
seventh day after whose death, Agelric, bishop of the South Saxons,
also departed, having prayed of the Lord that he might not long
survive such a father. Edsi, the king's chaplain, succeeded to the
archbishopric of Canterbury, Grimketel to the bishopric of the
South Saxons. Britheg, bishop of Worcester, died, and was suc
ceeded by Living.
A. D. 1039. The winter was exceedingly severe. Bnthmar,
bishop of Lichfield, died, and was succeeded by Wulsi. Harde
cnut, king of the Danes, went to Flanders, to visit his mother,
Emma, 'bunecan, king of the Scots, died, and Macbet usurped
his kingdom.
A.D. 1040. King Harold died at London, and was buried at
Westminster. Hardecnut, having been elevated to the throne,
bitterly revenged upon his dead brother the murder of his brother
Alfred. For having disinterred the body of the dead king Harold,
he commanded that his head should be first thrown into a ditch,
and afterwards cast into the river Thames. Godwin made his peace
with the king by offering many gifts, and by the oaths which were
sworn by himself and many of his nobles.
A.D. 1041. Edward, the son of Agelred, formerly king of the
English, came to England out of Normandy, in which he had re- ;
sided for many years in exile, and was honourably received by his
brother Hardecnut, in whose court he remained.
A.D. 1042. While king Hardecnut (at that time joyful, merry,
and in robust health) was celebrating the nuptial festival upon the !
marriage of Githa, the daughter of Osgot Clappa, a personage oi
great importance, with Tovi Pruda, a Dane of considerable in
fluence, which was held at the place called Lamhythe, and aftea
having given the bride to the bridegroom, he was standing in com
pany with her and several others, he suddenly fell to the ground as |
they were drinking ; and having remained speechless until the
fourth l day, he then died, it being the sixth of the ides of Jun*
[8th June], and was buried at Winchester, near his father.
A.D. 1043. Edward was anointed king at Winchester, on the
first day of Easter, on the third of the nones of April [3d April]
by Edsi, archbishop of Canterbury, and Alfric, archbishop of York
and nearly all the bishops of England. Edmund, bishop of Dur
ham, died, and was succeeded by Aegelric, while Siward directec
the earldom of Northumberland.
A.D. 1044. Alwerd, bishop of London, died.
A.D. 1045. Brithwald, bishop of Wilton, died; his successor wa:
Hermann, the king's chaplain.
A.D. 1046. Magnus, king of the Norwegians, the son of th<
saintly king Olave, having put to flight Swane, the king of thi
1 As to these dates, compare the corresponding passage of Simeon.
A. D. 1051.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. Ill
Danes, subjugated Denmark. Osgot Clappa was expelled from
England.
A.D. 1047. There was a battle at Wallundun. Alwin, bishop of
Winchester, died, and was succeeded by Stigand. Magnus, king
of the Norwegians, fought a battle with Swane, and drove him
from Denmark, in which he himself reigned, but he died not long
after.
A.D. 1048. Suane received Denmark, and Harold Harfahger,
the son of Siward, king of the Norwegians (by his mother's side the
brother of St. Olave, being the uncle of king Magnus), returned to
Norway, and by his messengers made peace with the king of Eng
land. There was a great earthquake on the kalends of May [1st
May], at Worcester, Wic, Derby, and many other places. A great
mortality of men and cattle followed, and fire in the air, commonly
called "wood l fire/' in certain places consumed many towns, and
much corn.
A.D. 1049. Leo became the one hundred and forty-fifth pope;
this is the Leo who made a new anthem concerning pope Gregory.
The emperor Henry collected a countless army against Baldwin,
earl of Flanders, because he had broken into and burnt down his
very beautiful palace at Neomagium. Pope Leo, and a large number
of nobles from different countries, took a part in this expedition.
Swane, king of the Danes, accompanied them with his fleet, and
he swore fealty to the emperor. At length earl Baldwin was con
strained to make peace with the emperor. Pope Leo dedicated
the church of St. Remigius at Rheims, where also he afterwards
held a council.
A.D. 1050. Macbeth, king of the Scots, distributed (or rather
scattered) money at Rome. Edsi, archbishop of Canterbury, died,
and was succeeded by Rodbert, bishop of London, a Norman by
family. Hermann, bishop of Wilton, [and] Aldred, bishop of
Worcester, went to Rome.
A.D. 1051. Alfric, named also Putta, archbishop of York, died at
Sudwelle, and was buried at Medeshamstede, that is, at Peterborough ;
he was succeeded by Kinsi, the king's chaplain. King Edward
freed the English from the oppressive tribute of thirty thousand
pounds, in the thirty-eighth year after his father, king Aegelred, had
first commanded it to be paid to the Danes. A dispute arose
between the king and earl Godwin, because he would not give up
to death his brother-in-law, the earl of Boulogne, whose retainers
(in their ill-advised search for lodgings at Dover, where they had
landed) had killed many of the inhabitants, and who had taken
refuge in the castle of Dover along with his people. At last the
king banished earl Godwine, as he was endeavouring to escape the
day which had been appointed, and his five sons with him ; the
earl had wished to discuss the matter with the king, against whom
he had twice marched with his army, and from whom he had twice
contrived to escape. King Edward received with great honour
earl William the Bastard, of Normandy, who came to him into
1 .... vulgo dictus Silvaticus .... Orig.
[\2 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1052—
England: and after having loaded him with many gifts, he sent him
home to his own land.
A.D. 1052. Emma, called also Elgiva, formerly queen of the
English, died at Winchester. King Edward restored earl Godwin
and his sons to their former dignities, and they were mutually re
conciled. Almost all the Normans were banished from England.
Rodbert, archbishop of Canterbury, and his friends, escaped, but
had great difficulty in getting out of England.
A.D. 1 053. The head of Res, the brother of Griffin, the king of the
Welsh,1 was brought to king Edward at Gloucester, in the vigil of
the Epiphany [5th Jan.]. Earl Godwin, while he was sitting at
table near the king, on the second day of Easter- week [12th April],
was struck dumb, and continuing in this condition, was carried out
by his sons to the king's chamber, and on the fifth day2 afterwards
he died, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son Harold, and
Harold's earldom was given to Algar, the son of earl Leofric.
A.D. 1054. Siward, the duke of the Northumbrians, entered
Scotland with a great army, by the command of king Edward, and
having fought a battle with Macbeth, the king of the Scots, he put
him to flight, and (as the king had directed) elevated Malcolm 3 to
the throne. King Edward sent Aldred, bishop of Worcester, to the
emperor, that he might receive from him his cousin Edward, who
had been in exile in Hungary.
A.D. 1055. Siward, duke of the Northumbrians, died at York;
his dukedom was given to Tosti, the brother of earl Harold. Not
long after this, Algar, the son of earl Leofric, though innocent,
was banished by king Edward, and forthwith went to Ireland, where
he procured eighteen piratical vessels; and relying principally upon
the assistance of Griffin, the king of the Welsh, he at length re
covered his earldom, but not before he had burnt the city of Here
ford and the monastery of St. Albert the king and martyr, and
had put to death several canons and more than four hundred of
the laity.
A. D. 1056. The emperor Henry died, arid was succeeded by his
son Henry. Edelstan, bishop of Hereford, of holy memory, died,
and was succeeded by Levegar, the chaplain of duke Harold ; who,
along with his clerics and many others, was killed that same year,
by Griffin, the king of the Welsh. Agelric, bishop of Durham,
voluntarily relinquished his see, and returned to his monastery of
Peterborough, where he finished his life. His brother Agelwin
succeeded him. Malcolm, the son of Duncan, succeeded to the
kingdom of Scotland by hereditary right [4and reigned thirty-eight
years. In the year one thousand and sixty-seven he married the
glorious queen Margaret, who bore him six sons, that is to say,
1 That w, of the South Welsh. See Simeon.
2 He died upon May 15, according to the Saxon Chronicle.
3 Son of the king of the Cumbrians, according to Simeon.
4 The portion here inclosed within brackets, is printed from a leaf which has
originally formed no part of the Chronicle, but which is written in a hand very
little later. The words from "Malcolm" to "right," form all the original text
of the Chronicle, which immediately passes into the year following. Subsequent
notes will show that this addition varies in some instances from the text itself.
A. D. 1056.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 113
Edward, Edmund, Eddred, Edgar, Alexander, and David, and two
daughters, Matilda, the queen of the English, and Mary, countess
of Boulogne. In the thirty-seventh year of his reign he was killed
in England, on the ides of November [13th Nov. 1093], and
his eldest son, Edward, was pierced with a lance at the same
place, and died on the seventeenth of the kalends of December
[15th Nov. 1093]. As soon as the blessed queen M[argaret]
heard this, or rather, (to speak more accurately,) as soon as she
had foreknown it by the Holy Spirit, she received confession and
the communion, and having recommended her soul by prayer to
God, she yielded up her pure spirit to heaven, on the sixteenth of
the kalends of December [16th Nov. 1093]. Thereupon Duve-
nald, the brother of the king Malcolm, whom we have already
mentioned, seized upon the throne, and banished the legitimate
heirs, namely, Edgar, Alexander, and David. Duncan, however,
the son of this Malcolm, — although a base son, — who had been
a hostage at the court of the king of England, that is to say, of
William Rufus, made a descent, under the assistance and advice
of the same monarch ; and having put his uncle to flight, was
accepted as king, and reigned for one year and a half, but was
wickedly slain by a certain nobleman (the earl of Mornes 1), at the
instigation of the Duvenald who has been already mentioned.
Hereupon Duvenald once more invaded the kingdom, and reigned
for three years and a half. In the year one thousand and ninety-
six from the incarnation of our Lord, Edgar, the son of king
Malcolm and the glorious queen Margaret, became king of Scot
land by hereditary right, Duvenald having been captured and con
demned to perpetual imprisonment. And thus king Edgar reigned
happily for nine years, and departed in the year one thousand one
hundred and seven from the incarnation, on the seventh of the
ides of January [7th Jan.]. His brother Alexander succeeded him
in the throne, and reigned gloriously for seventeen years, and went
the way of all flesh on the sixth of the kalends of May [26th
April], in the year one thousand one hundred and twenty- four from
our Lord's incarnation. He was succeeded in the throne by his
younger and happier brother David. This most powerful king
reigned happily for twenty-nine years, and then resigning his soul
to God, he departed in the year one thousand one hundred and
fifty-three from the incarnation of our Lord, namely, on the ninth
of the kalends of June [24th May] . Earl Henry, the son of this
king David, had died in the previous year, that is, in the year one
thousand one hundred and fifty -two from our Lord's incarnation ;
and in the following year, I mean, in the year A.D. one thousand
one hundred and fifty-four, Malcolm, the son of the aforesaid earl
Henry, assumed the government of the realm, being then a boy and
a virgin, and by the suggestion of God's grace he continued in his vir
ginity even till his death. He reigned for twelve years and a half, and
casting aside the body, he was removed into heaven on the fifth of the
ides of December [8th Dec.]. In the same year, that is, in the year
1 Fordun (book v. chap. 27) tells us that Duncan was killed by a certain earl
of Merns, called Malpeter, at Monathethyn, and bxiried at lona.
VOL. IV. I
114 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1056—
one thousand one hundred and sixty-five from our Lord's incarna
tion, his brother William assumed the rule, and in the thirty-third
year of his reign, and in the year one thousand one hundred and
ninety-eight from our Lord's incarnation, his son Alexander was
born ; and this king died in the forty-ninth year of his reign. After
the death of the father, this son of his, Alexander, received the
kingdom honourably ; and in the year one thousand two hundred
and twenty- one he took to wife Johanna, the daughter of king John,
and the sister of Henry king of England. (Then forty-two years
were completed.) In the year one thousand two hundred and
thirty-six, she died without children, whereupon the king took to
wife Mary, the daughter of Ingeram de Couchi, in the year one
thousand two hundred and thirty-nine, and she bore him a son
named Alexander, in the year one thousand two hundred and forty-
one. (After his birth twenty-two years were completed.) In the year
one thousand two hundred and forty-nine, and in the thirty-fifth
of his reign, the peaceful king Alexander died, on the eighth of the
ides of July [8th July], and was succeeded by his son Alexander,
on the third of the ides of July [13th July]. (After this fourteen
years were completed.) From the foundation of Citeaux l one
hundred and sixty-seven years have elapsed.] 2
A.D. 1057. Edward the etheling, the son of king Edward Iron
side, (for whom the king had sent to Hungary, with the intention
of appointing him king after his own death,) died at London.
Leofric the earl, of good memory, the son of duke Leofwin, who,
in conjunction with his wife Godiva, had built the monastery of
Coventry 3 out of his own patrimony, died, and \vas buried in that
place. He was succeeded by his son Algar.
A.D. 1058. Earl Algar was exiled for the second time by king
Edward ; but by the assistance of Griffin, king of the Welsh, and
of the Danish fleet, he forcibly recovered his earldom. Aldred
of Worcester passed the sea, and went to Jerusalem through
Hungary.
A.D. 1059. Nicolas, bishop of the city of Florence, was chosen
pope, and Benedict was expelled.
A.D. 1060. Henry, the king of the Franks, died, and his son
Philip succeeded him. Kinsi, archbishop of York, died, and was
succeeded by Aldred, bishop of Worcester. The bishopric of Here
ford was bestowed upon Walter, the chaplain to queen Edith.
A.D. 1061. Aldred, archbishop of York, went to Rome with
earl Tosti, and obtained the pall from pope Nicolas. In the mean
time Malcolm, king of the Scots, savagely depopulated Northum
berland, the earldom of Tosti, his sworn brother, and he violated
the peace of St. Cuthbert in Halieilande. Pope Nicolas died : his
successor was Alexander, the one hundred and forty-ninth pope.
A.D. 1062. Wulfstan, the venerable monk of the church of
1 The order of the Cistercians was instituted by Robert, abbot of Molesme. in
1098. (Gall. Christ, iv. 980.) Adding the one hundred and sixty-six years of the
text to that date, we arrive at the year 1164, which brings us to within a year of
the death of Malcolm IV. It seems not improbable therefore that this present
entry is intended to be taken in connexion with that event.
2 The interpolated passage here ends. 3 ]y[onast. Anglic, ii. 429.
A.D. 1070.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. H5
Worcester, was made bishop of Worcester, and was consecrated by
Aldred, archbishop of York, because our lord the pope had for
bidden Stigand to exercise his episcopal functions.
A.D. 1063. Grifin, the king of the North Welsh, unable to resist
the attacks and the courage of earl Harold and his brother Tosti, went
on shipboard and took to flight, but escaped with difficulty. Here
upon the Welsh were constrained to give hostages, and surrendered
themselves and their property, and cast off and outlawed their king
Grifin.
A.D. 1064. Grifin, the king of the North Welsh, was killed by
his own people ; and his head, and the prow of his ship, with the
ornaments, were sent to earl Harold, and he immediately pre
sented them to king Edward. But king Edward granted the land
of the deceased king to his two brothers, Bleothgent and Rith-
walan, upon condition that they should always be faithful to him ;
and this they confirmed by an oath, and gave hostages.
A.D. 1065. Agelwin, bishop of Durham, raised from their tomb
the bones of the blessed king and martyr Oswin, and honourably
placed them in a large shrine at Tynemouth.
A.D. 1066. Here deceased king Edward of pious memory, the
honour and glory of the English while he lived, and their ruin
when he died, after having held his court during Christmas at
London, as well as he was able, and after he had consecrated, with
great pomp, the church of St. Peter at Westminster, which he had
built from its foundations, in the vigil of the Epiphany [5th Jan.].
Upon his death he was succeeded by Harold, the son of earl
Godwin. Harold Harphagher, the king of the Norwegians, the
brother of St. Olave, king and martyr, and earl Tosti, were killed
at Strinfordebrige.1 William the bastard subdued and obtained
possession of England ; and was consecrated king by Aldred, arch
bishop of York, at Westminster. A comet appeared.
A.D. 1067. King William returned to Normandy, taking with
him Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, Edgar the etheling, earls
Edwin and Morkar and Walteus, and many others of the more
noble of the English. On his return he imposed on the English
an insupportable tribute.
A.D. 1068. There were two popes in Rome, that is to say, the
bishop of Parma, who was driven out, and the bishop of Lucca,
who remained pope.
A.D. 1069- Earl Robert Cumin, along with nearly seven hundred
men, was killed by the Northumbrians at Durham. Archbishop
Aldred died.
A.D. 1070. King Malcolm ravaged England as far as Cliveland ;
and at that time discovering that Edgar etheling, and his sisters
Margaret and Christina, were escaping from the king of England,
he permitted them to enter Scotland, and on his return he took
them under his protection at Weremunda. Afterwards2 he took
Margaret as his wife. Stigand was deposed from the archbishopric
1 Such is the faulty reading of the MS.
2 The interpolation under the year 1056, states that this marriage took place in
1067.
i 2
116 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1070—
by the legates of pope Alexander, as were many other persons.
The archbishops Thomas and Lamfranc were consecrated ; Lam-
franc by the suffragan bishops, Thomas by Lamfranc.
A.D. 1071. Lamfranc and Thomas went to Rome, and received
their palls from pope Alexander. Walker is appointed bishop of
the church of Durham.
A.D. 1072. William entered Scotland, and was met by king
Malcolm at the place called Abernithi I [where he became his
retainer].2 On his return from Scotland king William rashly
wished to pry into St. Cuthbert's affairs through the means of his
chaplains, but being terrified, he departed from Durham in great
haste.
A.D. 1073. Edgar the ethelingcame to terms with king William.
Earl Waldef bitterly revenged the death of his grandfather, earl
Aldred, upon the sons of Carl.
A.D. 1074. Hildebrand, who was also called Gregory, the Roman
archpope, was elected and consecrated. This pope forbid,, under
ban, that clerks should have wives. Three monks came from
Evesham; their names were Aldwin, Elfwin, and Reinfrid. By
these three, three monasteries were provided with monks, that is
to say, Durham, York, and Whitby. A great conspiracy was
formed against king William.
A.D. 1075. Earl Waldeve was put to death. Philip, king of
the Franks, compelled king William to flee from the siege of D61.
Pope Gregory forbid any person to hear the mass performed by
a priest who had a wife.
A.D. 1076. Swane, the king of the Danes, died; he was well
instructed in literature. His son Harold succeeded him.
A.D. 1077. Robert Curtehose waged war against his father, being
assisted herein by Philip, king of the Franks, because in his pre
sence William had promised to give Normandy to his son, and had
not kept his word.
A.D. 1078. Nothing worthy of notice.
A.D. 1079. Malcolm, king of the Scots, ravaged3 England as far
as the Tyne. King William and his son William were wounded by
Robert the son of the former, and were both put to flight before
the castle of Girboreth.
A.D. 1080. Walcher, bishop of Durham, was killed. Odo, bishop
of Bayeux, having been despatched by his brother William, ravaged
Northumberland. King William sent his son Robert into Scot
land against Malcolm, who proceeded as far as Eaglesuret.4 Having
accomplished nothing of any consequence, he returned and founded
Newcastle. William obtained the bishopric of Durham. At
Mayence, the emperor Henry decreed that pope Gregory should
1 The locality of this Abernethi has been a subject of controversy. See Hailes'
Annals, i. 15.
2 The words here inserted between brackets, are no longer visible in the original
manuscript, but they are given from Gale's edition. Since the date of its publi
cation they have been so carefully erased from the vellum, that there does not
remain even the vestige of a single letter.
3 This inroad took place between the 15th Aug. and 8th Sept.
4 Egglesbirch, Leland, Collect, i. 356. Chalmers, in his Caledonia, i. 419, be
lieves it to be the modern Falkirk.
A.D. 1087.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 117
be deposed, and in his place he made Wibert, bishop of Ravenna,
to be antipope. There was a very high wind on Christmas-day.
A.D. 1081. The emperor Henry went to Rome against the pope
in hostile manner ; but though he stormed the city, he did not
gain an entrance.
A.D. 1082. After the emperor Henry and Pope Gregory had
mutually inflicted on the other side numerous murders and plunder-
ings, many were killed on the night of Palm Sunday [17th April].
King William caused his brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux, to be
placed in confinement.
A.D. 1083. The emperor Henry stormed and took the city of
Rome, and thrust in the antipope Wibert ; but Gregory retired to
Beneventum, and there he continued until the day of his death.
A.D. 1084. Pope Gregory died. King William received six
shillings from each hide throughout England.
A.D. 1085. King William made bishops three of his chaplains ;
namely, to Maurice he gave the bishopric of London, to William
that of Thetford, and that of Chester to Robert.
A.D. 1086. King William caused the whole of England to be
described.1 The etheling Edgar, along with . . . . 2 two hundred
knights passed the sea, and went to Apulia. His sister Christiana
entered the monastery of Rumsey, and there assumed the habit of
a nun.
A.D. 1087. The reliques of St. Nicolas were translated from
Mirreia3 to Barum. Aldwin, prior of Durham, died. King
William went with an army into France, and burnt the city called
Mathuntun [Mantes], and all the churches which it contained,
along with two recluses, and afterwards returned to Normandy. But
in the journey thither he was seized with an acute pain in the bowels,
which daily increased in intensity. As the symptoms grew more
severe, he became aware that the day of his death was at hand,
whereupon he gave their liberty to his brother Odo, bishop of
Bayeux, and the earls Morkar and Roger, and Siward, surnamed
Barn, and Wulnot the treasurer of king Harold (whom he had kept
under ward even from his boyhood), and all the persons whom he
had in confinement, either in England or in Normandy. Then he
gave the kingdom of England to his son William, and the earldom
of Normandy to his eldest son Robert, who at that time was an
exile in France ; and thus, after having armed himself with the
heavenly viaticum, he resigned at once his kingdom and his life, on
the fifth of the ides of September [9th Sept.], after having reigned
over the English for twenty years and eleven months. He was
buried at Caen, in the church of St. Stephen, which he had built
from the foundation, and had richly endowed. His son William
hastened off to England with all speed, taking with him Morcar
and Wulnot ; but immediately upon his arrival at Winchester he put
them into prison, as before they had been. After this, on the sixth
1 Namely, in Domesday Book.
2 An erasure occurs in the MS. before these words, but the text, as it now
stands, agrees with Simeon of Durham.
3 See Simeon, p. 568, for the correction of this error.
118 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1087—
of the kalends of October [26th Sept.], being Sunday, he was
consecrated king at Westminster, by archbishop Lamfranc. He
divided his father's treasures, as he had commanded, among the
churches throughout England, and among the poor. He delivered
from their imprisonment Ulf, the son of the late king Harold,
and Duncan,1 the son of king Malcolm ; and after having bestowed
upon them the arms of knighthood, he permitted them to go
wherever they pleased.
A.D. 1088. Nearly all the earls and nobles of England made
attempts to betray the king, but they were entirely fruitless.
A.D. 1089. Archbishop Lamfranch died. There occurred a very
great earthquake throughout the whole of England about the third
hour of the day.
A.D. 1090. King William was the means of procuring the de
parture of Philip, the king of the Franks, from the siege of his
castle in Normandy, by privately sending over money thither.
London was damaged by a very severe wind.
A.D. 1091. William, and his brother Robert, were reconciled.
Their brother Henry seized Mount St. Michel, and devastated the
king's land ; the king and the earl besieged him during the whole 2
of Lent, but without any success. King William encountered the
army of king Malcolm, (which was at that time ravaging Northum
berland,) in the province of Loidis,3 and earl Robert reconciled
them upon this condition, that the king of Scots should be obedient
to king William, and that the latter should restore to the former
twelve vills which he had possessed in his father's time, and should
give him annually twelve marks of gold. There was a great dis
sension between pope Urban and the antipope Wibert already
mentioned.
A.D. 1092. Bishop Remigius translated the see of Dorchester to
Lincoln. King William came to Carel,4 and repaired it.
A.D. 1093. King William gave the archbishopric of Canterbury
to Anselm, abbot of Bee, and the bishopric of Lincoln to his
chancellor, Robert Bloeth. The new church of Durham was
commenced on the third of the ides of August [llth Aug.], the
first foundation stones being laid by bishop William, and Malcolm,
king of the Scots, and the prior Turgot. Malcolm, the king of the
Scots, was killed, along with his eldest son, Edward,5 by the men of
Northumberland. Margaret, the queen of Scots, died.
A.D. 1094. The Scots slew king Duncean.6
A.D. 1095. Wolstan, the venerable bishop of Worcester, died.
Walter, bishop of Albano, the legate of the church of Rome,
having been sent by pope Urban, brought the pall to Canterbury.
1 Called Dunechald by Simeon. See Hailes, i. 20, note.
2 Ash-Wednesday fell on 26th Feb., and Easter-day upon 13th April.
3 Now Lothian.
4 ln 1Siln]eon Cairleil- Carel, however, is still the common pronunciation in
Cumberland, and ought not, perhaps, to be here considered as an error of the
Bcnbe.
5 Malcolm's eldest son, Edward, was wounded upon the 13th November, and
died upon the 15th, at Edwardisle, in the forest of Jeddewood. He was buried
before the altar of the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline. Fordun.
J< 274' 6 See Chalmers' Caledonia, i. 423, note Te.
A.D. 1100.J CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 119
Robert de Mobrei, earl of Northumberland, was taken prisoner at
Tinemouth, and placed in custody at Windeshoure [Windsor].
Pope Urban came into France, and preached the expedition to
Jerusalem.
A.D. 1096. The Christians began their expedition towards Jeru
salem. William, bishop of Durham, died.
A.D. 1097. King1 William sent the etheling, Edgar, into Scot
land, that he might expel Duvenald, and appoint as king Edgar,
the son of king Malcolm, and this he did. The Christians took
the city of Nicea on the fourteenth of the kalends of June [19th
May] .
A.D. 1098. 2 The abbey of St. Mary at Cistercium was founded,
and its first abbot was Robert. Antioch was captured by the
Christians on the third of the nones of June [3d June], and a
comet appeared. Walchelin, bishop of Winchester, died, and was
succeeded by William Giffard. Magnus, the king of the Nor
wegians, (the son of king Olave, the son of king Harold Harfauh,)
added to his realm the islands of the Orkneys and the Menavian
islands. In the same year, in the kalends of August [1st Aug.],
died Adimar, bishop of Puy.3 Pope Urban held a council at Bari,
where he was attended by Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury. The
Christians took two cities in Syria, namely Barra and Marra ; but
here they experienced such a famine that they devoured some of
the bodies of the Saracens.
A.D. 1099. Pope Urban held a great council at Rome in Easter
week. Jerusalem was taken by the Christians in the ides of July
[15th July], being the sixth day of the week [Friday], and Godefri,
of Lorraine, assumed the government. Pope Urban died, and on
the following day Paschal was consecrated pope. On the third of
the nones of November [3d Nov.], the sea passed over its usual
limits, and overwhelmed many towns and men, and oxen and sheep
innumerable. It is reported that when God was entreated that He
would send down fire from heaven upon Easter-eve, in order to
indicate him whom He had chosen as king, the flame settled upon
the lance of Robert Curthose, but that he rejected the kingdom,
expecting to become king of England.
A.D. 1100. Wibert the antipope died. King William was
slain in the New Forest by Walter Tirell, with an arrow. King
Henry was consecrated king by Maurice, bishop of London.
King Henry recalled archbishop Anselm, and placed in custody at
London Ralph, bishop of Durham. Robert earl of Normandy, and
Robert earl of Flanders, and Eustace earl of Boulogne, returned
home. King Henry took to wife queen Matilda, the daughter of
Malcolm, the king of the Scots, by the holy queen Margaret; she
was also the sister of kings Edgar, Alexander, and David ; she was
consecrated and crowned by archbishop Anselm. Thomas, arch
bishop of York, died, and was succeeded by Girard. Bomund, at
1 This does not agree with the interpolation under the year 1056, but is sup
ported by the Saxon Chronicle and Simeon.
2 This passage, as far as the word Robert, is written in red ink in the MS. ; the
abbey of Melrose was of the Cistercian order, (see Spotiswood, p. 415,) hence the
importance attached to the foundation of Citeaux. 3 Gall. Christ, ii. 703.
120 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1100—
this time the lord of Antioch, was captured by the Turks, when
before the city of Meletina, and carried off by them ; but the
Lord delivered that city into the hands of Baldwin, the brother of
king Godfrey. In this same year died Godfrey, and Baldwin suc
ceeded him.
A.D. 1101. Bishop Ralph escaped out of prison. Louis, king
of France, was present at the court of king Henry, at London,
upon the Nativity of our Lord [25th Dec.]. Peace was made
between king Henry and earl Robert, upon condition that the king
should pay to the earl three thousand marks of silver each year.
Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, took Csesarea of Palestine.
A.D. 1102. King Henry expelled from England Robert de
Belesme, and his brother Arnold ; and he gave Maria, the sister
of queen Matilda, in marriage to Eustace, earl of Boulogne. The
Tyronensian1 order commenced at old Tyron, in the Forest, under
abbot Benedict.2
A.D. 1103. Archbishop Anselm, after having endured many
injuries from the king, went to Rome. Earl Robert came to
England, and forgave the king the three thousand marks.
A.D. 1104. The body of Saint Cuthbert wras exhibited, having
been discovered to be incorrupted, and the limbs flexible ; and it
was translated unto the new church at Durham, being four hundred
and eighteen years after his death.
A.D. 1105. King Henry passed over the sea, and was accepted
by almost all the barons of Normandy, who (blinded by the desire
of his great wealth) rejected his brother. He burnt Bayeux.
A.D. 1106. Earl Robert came into England, and requested that
his brother would restore to him everything of which he had
deprived him, but he met with a refusal. The emperor Henry
died, and was succeeded by his son Henry. King Henry crossed
the sea, and having fought a battle at Tenerchebrai, he took pri
soners earl Robert, and Robert de Stuteville, and William, earl of
Moreton.
A.D. 1107. Edgar,3 king of Scots, died upon the sixth of the
ides of January [8th Jan.] ; his brother Alexander succeeded him.
Earl Robert, and earl William de Moreton, were imprisoned in
England. The king returned into England ; and at a council
held at London, it was decreed that from this time forward no one
should be invested in a bishop's see or an abbey, by the king, or by
any other lay hand, through the delivery of a staff or ring. Arch
bishop Anselm consecrated five bishops at one time. Philip, king
of the Franks, died, and was succeeded by his son, Louis the Fat.
Roger, bishop of Salisbury, was ordained.
A.D. 1108. King Henry passed a law concerning the hanging
of thieves and robbers, and decreed that pence should be round.
Gundulf, bishop of Rochester died ; Ralph succeeded him.
* The chief abbey in Scotland which was of this order, was at Kelso, the near
neighbour to Melrose ; hence the interest attached to the foundation of the parent
monastery. See Spotiswood, p. 405.
2 An error for Bernard. See Gall. Christ, viii. 1262.
3 The interpolation says that Edgar died upon the 7th January, but the present
text coincides with that of Simeon.
A.D.1117.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 121
A.D. 1109. Archbishop Anselm died. Thomas was consecrated
archbishop of the church of York, by Richard, bishop of London,
on the fifth of the kalends of July [27th June] ; and on the kalends1
of August [1st Aug.], the same Thomas consecrated, at York,
Turgot, prior of Durham, to be bishop of St. Andrews. King
Henry changed the abbey of Ely into an episcopal see. A comet
appeared. The church of Tyron was founded ; and Ralph, who had
been sent from Tyron, became the first abbot of Selecherche.2
A. D. 1110. King Henry gave his daughter in marriage to Henry,
the king of the Germans. A comet appeared. The river Trent, for
the space of a mile, was dried up from the morning until three
o'clock. The hermit Godric took possession of a place called
Finchale, near Durham, and continued there until the day of his
death, a period of sixty years.
A.D. 1111. Henry, the German, came to Rome, and seized pope
Paschal, and placed him in custody ; but shortly afterwards they
were made friends.
A.D. 1112. King Henry imprisoned earl Robert de Belesme at
Keresburch.
A. D. 1113. On his return into England king Henry placed Robert
de Belesme in close custody at Warham. The Tyronensian monks
came into this country.
A. D. 1114. The emperor Henry married Matilda, the daughter of
the king of England, at Mayence, and she was consecrated empress.
Thomas, archbishop of York, died. Ralph, bishop of Rochester,
was made archbishop of Canterbury. Turstin, the king's chaplain,
was elected to the archbishopric of York. King Henry led his
army into Wales. The Thames became so low that boys could
wade over it.
A.D. 1115. Ralph received the pall from Anselm, the legate of
the church of Rome. Turgot, having returned from Scotland to
Durham, died, and was buried in the place in which he had pre
viously so long been a prior. The church of Scone was given to
the canons. Benedict,3 the first abbot of Tyron, died, and was
succeeded by Ralph, the abbot of Selechirche ; and William, monk
of Tyron, became abbot of Selechirche.
A.D. 1116. The earls and barons of all England did homage,
and swore fealty, at Salisbury, to William, the king's son. Turstin,
the elect of York, being unwilling to make profession to the arch
bishop of Canterbury, crossed the sea with the king. Pope
Paschal, by his letters, granted permission to king Henry to act as
his representative in England.
A.D. 1117. In Italy there was a great earthquake, which con
tinued for forty days, by which many buildings were overthrown,
and one town of considerable size was removed from its site.
The moon appeared to be changed into blood.
1 Simeon, p. 589, says that he was consecrated upon Sunday, the third of the
kalends of August ; an obvious error, as that day fell upon a Friday. The reading
of the text is probably the correct one.
2 It was subsequently removed from Selkirk to Kelso. See Spotiswood, p. 405.
3 See Fordun, i. 286. Benedict in the text, is an error for Bernard. This
sentence, as well as that relative to Scone, are added in the MS. by a hand some
what later.
122 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1118—
A.D. 1118. Pope Paschal died, and was succeeded by Pope
Gelasius. The emperor Henry went to Rome, and appointed as
antipope Burdin, bishop of Braccara, who in the previous year had
been excommunicated at Beneventum, by pope Gelasius. Matilda,
queen of England, died. Pope Gelasius came to Gaul, and was
honourably received by the king of the French, and all the popu
lation of his realm. Norbert went to Pope Gelasius, and received,
from him the office of preaching. Ralph, abbot of Tyron, died,
and was succeeded by William,1 abbot of Selechirche, who in turn
was succeeded by Herbert the monk, who afterwards became the
first abbot of Kelchou.
A.D. 1119. Pope Gelasius died at Clugni, and was buried there ;
and the cardinals and others at Rome elected in his stead Wido,
archbishop of Vienne, and called him Calixtus. The church was
smitten with a great scandal. Pope Calixtus fixed the thirteenth of
the kalends of November [20th Oct.] for a general council to be
holden at Rheims, in which he excommunicated the emperor
Henry, and in which also he consecrated Thurstin, archbishop of
York, although both Henry, king of England, and Ralph, arch
bishop of Canterbury, had sent their messengers requesting that he
would not do so. Pope Calixtus came to Gisors to hold a con
ference with the king of England. By the authority of pope
Calixtus, Norbert founded the order of the Premonstratensians.
A.D. 1120. William, the king's son, and his base-born brother,
and many of the nobility, both men and women, one hundred and
forty knights, fifty sailors, and three captains of vessels, were all
drowned at Barbefleot.
A. D. 1121. King Henry took to wife Aaliz, the daughter of God
frey, duke of Louvaine. In the previous year Edmer, a monk of
Canterbury, had been elected to the bishopric of St. Andrew's, in
Scotland, but he laid aside all intention of ruling the diocese, and
returned to his own place of abode. Pope Calixtus by his letters
constrained the king of England to receive archbishop Thurstan,
who was immediately admitted into his archiepiscopal see, without
any profession having been demanded. Pope Calixtus having
marched from Rome, laid siege to the city of Suthrina, and there
captured Burdin the antipope, whom he sent into exile. King
Henry marched into Wales with a great army, but the king and
the Welsh were soon reconciled. Ralph, bishop of Durham, built
the castle at Norham.
A.D. 1122. John, bishop of Glasgow, went to Rome and Jeru
salem. Pope Calixtus and the emperor Henry were made friends.
King Henry came to Carlisle. Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury,
died. Sibilla, queen of the Scots, died on the third of the ides of
July2 [13th July].
A.D. 1123. John, bishop of Glasgow, was compelled by pope
Calixtus to return to his episcopal see. William de Curbuil was
1 See Gall. Christ, viii. 1263, the Benedictine editors of which work were un
acquainted with the previous history of this individual.
* According to Simeon she died upon July 12. Fordun, however, (i. 316,) agrees
with the text, adding that the place of her decease was Loch Tay. Lord Hailes
erroneously places her death in June instead of July.
A.D.1129.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 123
elected to the archbishopric of Canterbury. Pope Calixtus held a
council at Rome on the fifteenth of the kalends of April [20th
Mar.], at which three hundred bishops were present. Archbishops
William and Thurstan went to Rome, but returned without having
accomplished their object. Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, was
treacherously captured by the pagans.
A.D. 1124. Alexander, king of the Scots, died1 on the seventh
of the kalends of May [25th April], and was succeeded by his
brother David. In this same year, four months before his death,
he had caused Robert, prior of Scone, to be elected bishop of St.
Andrew's, but his ordination was delayed for a considerable 2 time.
Pope Calixtus died, and was succeeded by Honorius.
A.D. 1125. The emperor Henry died without issue, his successor
was Lotharius. John of Crema, the legate, came to England, and
visited king David at Rokesbufc, and on his return he held a
council at London. The chief moneyers of all England were
apprehended by the command of king Henry, and having been
collected at Winchester, they had their right hands cut off, and
were emasculated, shortly after the Circumcision of our Lord.
There was a great famine throughout England. The empress, on
the death of her husband, returned to her father in Normandy.
A.D. 1126. The king of Jerusalem was permitted freely to re
turn to his own people, after having paid his ransom, and given
hostages to the pagans. Turstin, archbishop of York, and William,
archbishop of Canterbury, came back from Rome; William of
Canterbury had been made legate, but Turstin returned as he
had gone.
A.D. 1127- David, king of Scotland, and all the archbishops,
abbots, earls, and barons of all England, swore [fealty] to the
empress, upon the Circumcision of our Lord [1st Jan.], at London.
Charles, earl of Flanders, was slain during Lent, while he was in
prayer, during mass, and he was succeeded in the earldom by
William Longsword, the son of Robert Curthose. King Henry
gave his daughter, the empress, to Geoffrey, the earl of Anjou.
A.D. 1128. The church of the Holy Cross of Edeneburc was
founded. William, earl of Flanders, received a mortal wound, and
was succeeded by Theodore. Ralf, bishop of Durham, died, and
was succeeded by Geoffrey, the king's chancellor. The church of
Kelchehou3 was founded on the fifth of the nones of May [3d
May].
A.D. 1129. William Giffard, bishop of Winchester, died, and
the king gave his bishopric to his nephew Henry, the brother of
earl Teodbald and Stephen, and the bishopric of Chester was
given to Roger, the nephew of Geoffrey de Clintun, and both of
them were consecrated at the same time at Canterbury, by the
archbishop William.
1 The authorities do not agree as to the date of the death of Alexander I.
The interpolation in the year 1056, following Simeon, places it upon the 26th April,
the Saxon Chronicle upon the 23d April ; and according to Fordun (i 291) it
occurred on the 24th.
2 He received consecration from Thurstan, archbishop of York, in 1128. Angl.
Sacr. ii. 237.
3 See Fordun, i. 286.
124 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1130—
A.D. 1130. Anagus,1 earl of Murray, was killed by the Scots,
together with his followers. Pope Honorius died ; his successor
was Innocent.
A.D. 1131. King Henry appointed Robert, prior of Lantony, to
the bishopric of Hereford ; he being a man worthy of a bishopric.
A.D. 1132. 2On the third of the nones of March [5th March]
the abbey of St. Mary of Rievalx was completed, it being Satur
day, and its first abbot was William.
A.D. 1 133. There was an eclipse of the sun on the fourth of the
nones of August [2d. Aug.], on the fourth day of the week [Wed
nesday], so that for some time the day was turned into night.
Geoffrey, the king's chancellor, was consecrated bishop of Durham,
and Aldulf was consecrated bishop of Carlisle by Turstin, arch
bishop of York. Nigell 3 was consecrated bishop of Ely.
A.D. 1134. The church of St. James of Rokesburch was dedi
cated on the fifteenth of the kalends of May [17th April], being
the third day in Easter week ; and the church of St. Paul at
London was destroyed by fire. Malcolm 4 was captured, and
placed in close custody in the tower of Rokesburch. Robert
Curthose died in prison.
A.D. 1135. Henry, king of England, died on the fourth of the
nones of December [2d Dec.], and earl Stephen, his nephew,
assumed the government ; afterwards he was crowned, on the
eleventh of the kalends of January [22d Dec.], and on the day of
his coronation the pax was forgotten to be offered to the people,
nor had he peace for nearly all the days of his life.
A.D. 1136. 5The abbey of St. Mary of Melrose was finished on
Monday, being the second day of Easter week [23d March],
and its first abbot was Richard. William, archbishop of Canter
bury, died. The church of Glasgow was dedicated. Northum
berland and Cumberland were surrendered to David, the king of
the Scots ; but king David and king Stephen having been recon
ciled shortly afterwards, Northumberland was restored to king
Stephen, while Cumberland remained with king David. The
translation of St. Guthlac the confessor.
A.D. 1137. Louis the Fat, the king of France, died; his son
Louis succeeded him. Turstin, archbishop of York, came to
Rochesburc, and obtained from king David the promise that he
would not again devastate Northumberland. Shortly afterwards,
however, the truce was broken because king Stephen would not
give Northumberland to Henry, the son of king David.
A.D. 1138. King David miserably devastated the whole of
Northumberland. In the beginning of Lent [16th Feb.], king
Stephen came with a great army to Rokesburc, but shortly after-
1 Fordun, i. 295, 448.
2 This passage relative to the building of this celebrated monastery occurs in
red letters in the MS. The monks of Melrose were an offshoot from this estab
lishment, hence the importance attached to its foundation.
3 This entry is in a hand considerably later.
4 The individual here mentioned was Malcolm, the son of Macbeth, who pre
tended that he was the son of Angus, earl of Moray, already mentioned ; he is
mentioned by Fordun, i 448.
5 The passage, as far as the word " week," is in capital letters,
A.D. 1142.] CHRONICLE OF .tfELROSE. 125
wards returned with disgrace. Petrus Leo, the antipope, died.
The legate Albert,1 the bishop of Ostia, came to Carlisle to king
David. There was a battle at the Standard at Cuttenemor between
the Scots and the English, on the eleventh of the kalends of
September [22d Aug.], being the second day of the week [Monday],
and the bishop of Salisbury, and the bishop of Lincoln, who was
chancellor, were taken prisoners by king Stephen.
A.D. 1139. Teodbald, abbot of Bee, was consecrated archbishop
of Canterbury, by Alberic the legate, about the Epiphany of our
Lord [6th Jan.]. At the instance of the queen peace was made
between the two kings, and Northumberland was given to Henry,
the son of king David. Earl Henry married the countess Ada,
the daughter of William, earl of Warren, [2 and the sister of
William the younger,] and of Robert, earl of Leicester, and of
Waleran, count of Mellent, whose mother was sister of Ralph,
earl of Perona, the kinswoman of the king of France. Henry,
bishop of Winchester, the brother of king Stephen, was made
legate of England by pope Innocent. The empress Matilda came
into England to obtain possession of the land for the benefit of her
son, whom king David, and many others, considered to be the
lawful heir.
A.D. 1140. King Stephen was taken prisoner at Lincoln in battle
on the day of the Purification of St. Mary [2d Feb.], and committed
to prison. At the festival of the Holy Cross in September [14th
Sept.], a numerous army was levied from England, and the parts
beyond the sea, and at the instance of his queen, Stephen was
entirely restored to his liberty, and received the kingdom, and he
was exchanged for Robert, earl of Gloucester, the son of king
Henry, who had been taken prisoner there, 3 and David,
king of the Scots, and the empress escaped in safety. The abbey
of St. Mary of Newbottle 4 was built. Turstin, archbishop of
York, died ; he had spent the latter part of his days in the monas
tery of St. John the Evangelist at Punfreit.
A.D. 1141. An eclipse of the sun took place on the fourteenth
of the kalends of April [20th Mar.], and king Malcolm was born.5
Alberic de Ver was killed at London, in a tumult of the citizens.
Geoffrey, bishop of Durham, died. William the treasurer was
elected archbishop of York.
A.D. 1142. William Cumin, the chancellor of David, king of the
Scots, at the instigation of the empress, entered the castle of Dur
ham, and held the possessions of St. Cuthbert by force for some
time ; for, in the blindness of his ambition, he wished to become
the bishop of that see. The church, being thus grievously oppressed,
Roger the prior and Ralph the archdeacon abandoned the place,
and the others were scattered, and there were no divine services in
the church. In6 the same year the abbey of Dundraynan, in Gal
loway, was founded.
1 Read Alberic. 2 These words are written above the line, in a different hand.
3 An erasure here occurs in the MS.
4 Fordun, i. 296, agrees with this date, but it is placed a year later in the MS.
Harl. 2363, fol. 46 b.
5 See Fordun, i. 294, note. 6 In a hand somewhat later.
126 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1143—
A.D. 1143. William de Sancta Barbara, dean of the church of
York, was elected bishop of Durham. These two Williams were
both consecrated by Henry, bishop of Winchester, the legate of the
Roman church ; the aforesaid treasurer William became archbishop
of York, dean William became bishop of Durham. Pope Innocent
died ; his successor was Celestine. The order of the Premonstra-
tensians came to Neus.1 William,2 king of Scotland, was born.
A.D. 1144. Pope Celestine died, and was succeeded by Lucius.
A.D. 1145. William, abbot of Rievalx, died; he was succeeded
by Maurice. Pope Lucius died ; he was succeeded by Eugenius.
The noble city of Edessa, in Messapotamia of Syria, which is now
called Roeisa, was taken by treachery on the night of the Nativity
of our Lord [25th Dec.], while the people were engaged in divine
service, the archbishop being cruelly beheaded by the Saracens,
while he was in the church, as was also the greater part of the
Christian population. In this city rests St. Thomas the Apostle,
having been some time before translated thither from India.
A.D. 1146. The church of St. Mary of Malros was dedicated
upon the fifth of the kalends of August [28th July], being Sunday/
Archbishop William was accused 3 in the Roman court by certain
persons of his own diocese, and grave charges were preferred
against him. And because the bishop of Durham would not purge
him by oath, pope Eugenius commanded him to cease [from the
discharge of his functions].
A.D. 1147. Louis, king of France, and many nobles, and a
countless number of people, set out for Jerusalem, to wage war
against the Saracens ; but not only did they profit nothing, but in
many places they sustained considerable loss, and the noble William,
earl of Warren, was captured by the Turks. The Premonstra-
tensian order came to Alnwick.4 John, bishop of Glasgow, died,5
and Hubert, abbot of Kelso, succeeded him, having been conse
crated at Auxerre, by pope Eugenius, on St. Bartholomew's day
[24th Aug.]. Ernald became the second abbot of Kelso. Henry
Murdac, abbot of Fountains, was elected to the archbishopric of
York, and was consecrated by pope Eugenius at Treves, on the
second Sunday of the Lord's Advent [7th Dec.]. Alexander,
bishop of Lincoln, died. In the same year pope Eugenius held a
great council at Rheims, upon the festival named "Laetare6
Jerusalem."
A. D. 1 148. Richard, the first abbot of Melrose, died, and Walteve,
the brother of Henry earl of Northumberland and of Simon earl
of Northampton, was made abbot of Melrose. The convent came
to Alnwick. Robert, the venerable bishop of Hereford, died, and
was succeeded by Girard. The city of Lisbon was taken by the
1 Newhouse in Lincolnshire, Monast. Anglic, ii. 589.
2 See Fordun, i. 294, note. s See stubbes, col. 1721.
4 Monast. Anglic, ii. 591.
5 In 1148, according to John of Hexham. Upon 3d May, 1147, he was at Gold-
ingham in company with king David. See Appendix to Eaine's North Durham,
No. 21. The Chronicle of Holyrood agrees with the text.
6 This was the name of the fourth Sunday in Lent, 'which in 1147 fell on
March 30.
A.D.1154.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 12?
Christians. St. Malachi, an Irish bishop, died at Clairvaulx, and
was buried there.
A.D. 1149. Richard, formerly abbot of Melrose, died in the
convent at Clairvaulx. Henry, the son of the empress . ... x the
daughter of king Henry the first, and the son of the earl of Anjou,
was honourably received by David the king of the Scots at Car
lisle, and there received arms of knighthood from him. Louis, the
king of the Franks, returned from Jerusalem.
A.D. 1150. The abbey of Holmcultre2 was built on the kalends
of January [1st Jan.], and Everard was its first abbot ; as also the
abbey of Kinlos, in Muref, on the twelfth of the kalends of June
[21st May], and its first abbot was Asceline. The Premonstra-
tensian order came to Drueburch, on the festival of St. Martin
[10th Nov.].
A.D. 1151. Pope Eugenius sent four palls into Ireland (where
hitherto no pall had ever been sent), by his legate, John Papirus.
Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, died, and his son Henry succeeded him.
The Premonstratensian order came to Kikemunt.3
A.D. 1152. Matilda, queen of the English, died. Henry, earl of
Northumberland, the son of David, king of Scots, died, as did also
his daughter Matilda. Baldewin, the first abbot of Alnwick, died ;
his successor was Patrick. William, bishop of Durham, died.
The convent came to Drieburc on the day of St. Lucy [13th Dec.],
and Roger became its first abbot.
A.D. 1153. David, king of Scots, died on the ninth of the
kalends of June [24th May], and his grandson, Malcolm, a boy of
twelve years of age (the son of earl Henry, king David's son), suc
ceeded him. Pope Eugenius died ; his successor was Anastasius.
Henry, archbishop of York, died, likewise Bernard, abbot of Clair
vaulx. Peace was restored to England, for king Stephen, and
Henry, duke of Normandy, were reconciled with each other. By
the mediation of the venerable men, Theobald, archbishop of Can
terbury, and Henry, bishop of Winchester, Stephen adopted Henry
as his son, appointed that he should be his heir, and his successor
in the realm. Hugh, the treasurer of York, the king's kinsman,
was consecrated by pope Anastasius as bishop of Durham, on the
Sunday before Christmas-day [20th Dec.].
A.D. 1154. Eustace, the king's son, died; and then king Stephen
himself, and he was succeeded by Henry, duke of Normandy, the
son of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, and of the empress ; and he was
crowned on the Sunday before Easter-day [19th Dec.]. William,
formerly archbishop of York, whom pope Eugenius had suspended,
having gone to Rome in the previous year, obtained the favour of
pope Anastasius, and in the course of the present year was honour
ably restored to his see. Not long after this, however, a conspiracy
was formed against him (report says, by his own clergy), and, after
1 An erasure in the MS.
2 Holmcultram and Kinlos were at their foundation supplied with monks from
Melrose, hence the importance attached to the entry, which is written in large red
letters. The 1st Jan. and 21st May both fell upon a Sunday.
3 Apparently Dryburgh, near Melrose, on the river Tweed. See'Spotiswood,
p. 399.
128 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1154—
having partaken of the eucharist,1 he died, while engaged in wash
ing himself ; 2 the wine having been poisoned. Roger, archdeacon
or Canterbury, succeeded him.
A.D. 1155. Pope Anastasius died ; his successor was Adrian.
A.D. 1156. A convent of nuns came to Eccles 3 for the second
time. Dovenald, the son of Malcol[m], was captured at Witern,
and imprisoned in the tower at Rokesburc,4 along with his father.
A.D. 1157. Malcolm, king of the Scots, went to Henry, king of
England, at Chester, and there became his vassal, upon the same
terms as his grandfather had been the vassal of the old king Henry,
preserving in every respect his dignities. King Henry marched his
army for the first time into Wales, and took Rueland.
A.D. 1158. The castle of Were was fortified for the second time
at the command of the king of England.
There was a meeting at Carlel, between Henry, king of England,
and Malcolm, king of the Scots ; but they parted from each other
not upon the best of terms, and therefore the king of Scots was
not made a knight at that time.
A.D. 1159. Robert, bishop of St. Andrew's, died. Waldeve of
pious memory, the second abbot of Malros, died on the third of the
nones of August [3d Aug.] ; he was the uncle of king Mfalcolm].
His successor was William, a monk of the same church, on the
fifth of the kalends of December, and he received the benediction
in our church on the vigil of St. Andrew the Apostle [29th Nov.]
(which fell on a Sunday), from Herbert, bishop of Glasgow. Pope
Adrian died on the kalends of September [1st Sept.], and he was
succeeded by Alexander, who was canonically elected and con
secrated. The emperor Frederic, however, set up for himself an
idol — I mean, the antipope Octavian ; and he and his people, by
an accursed council and a bloody conventicle holden at Pavia,
decreed that this person should be worshipped. And thus a schism
arose in the church, and continued for no short time. Henry,
king of England, went to Tolouse with his army, and many died in
the expedition. William, earl of Bolougne, the son of king Stephen,
and Hamo, the son of the earl of Gloucester, deceased. On his
return from this army, Malcolm, the king of the Scots, was made
a knight, at Tours, by Henry, king of England. William, bishop of
Moray, and Nicolas, at that time the chamberlain of the king of
the Scots, paying a visit to the Roman court, on the service of king
Malcolm, of their own free will went to see pope Alexander, at
Agnania, which is beyond Rome. They were received by him with
due honour. William returned in the year following, having been
appointed the legate for the kingdom of Scotland. William, bishop
of St. Andrew's, died.
A.D. 1160. William, king of Scotland, returned from the expe
dition to Tolouse ; and having reached the town called Perth, he
1 See Stubbes, col. 1722.
2 The washing of the hands during the celebration of the mass, is illustrated
by Durant, De Ritibus Ecclesias Catholicse, lib. ii. cap. xxviii.
3 See Spotiswood, p. 461.
4 Fordun, i. 448, and also the Chronicle of Holyrood.
A. D. 1164.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. f& 129
was besieged therein by earl Fereteatht1 and five other earls, who
were incensed against him because he had gone to Toulouse, and
who wished, therefore, to take him prisoner. This presumptuous
design of theirs was unsuccessful. Upon three several occasions,
king Malcolm went with a large army into Galloway, and at length
he subdued them. Ernald, abbot of Kelso, was elected to the
episcopal see of St. Andrew's, in Scotland, upon the day of St. Brice,
the bishop [13th Nov.], (which this year fell upon a Sunday) ; and
on the Sunday following, that is to say, on the day of St. Edmund
[20th Nov.], he was consecrated at St. Andrew's, in Scotland, by
William, bishop of Moray, the legate of the apostolic see, in the
presence of king Malcolm, and the bishops and abbots and earls of
the realm. He was succeeded by John, the chanter of the same
church, who was elected on the vigil of St. Andrew [29th Nov.] ;
and on the day of the Epiphany [6th Jan.], he received the bene
diction from Herbert, bishop of Glasgow. This year king Malcolm
gave his sister Margaret to Conan, duke of Brittany, in marriage.
Robert, prior of St. Andrew's, died ; his successor was Walter, the
chanter of the same church.
A.D. 1161. Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, died; he was
the legate of the church of Rome. The venerable Thomas, the
chancellor of the king of England and archdeacon of the church of
Canterbury, that most admirable defender of the holy church of
God, then succeeded. He was a thorough despiser of the world,
though taken from the palace, and wearing the secular habit.
Bishop Ernald was made legate of the kingdom of Scotland, by
pope Alexander. While exercising his legative functions, he con
secrated Gregory bishop of Rosmark ; but afterwards, at the com
mand of pope Alexander, he ceased from the discharge of his office.
William, bishop of Murray, died.
A.D. 1162. Hugh de Moreville, the founder of the church of
Drieburg, died. Malcolm, king of Scotland, gave his second sister
Ada to Florence, earl of Hoilande. Henry, king of England,
received with distinction pope Alexander, when on his journey to
France. Ernald, bishop of St. Andrew's, died. The church of
St. Andrew's, in Scotland, was founded.
A.D. 1163. Henry, king of England, returned home from the
parts beyond the sea. Richard, the chaplain of king Malcolm, was
elected to the bishopric of St. Andrew's ; and, by God's mercy,
king Malcolm recovered at Danecastre [Doncaster] 2 from a severe
illness, and a firm peace was established between him and Henry,
king of England. Pope Alexander the third held a general council
at the city of Tours, in which he excommunicated the antipope
Octovian and the other schismatics, with the sole exception of the
emperor.
A.D. 1164. The abbey of Cupre was built by king Malcolm.
William, the brother of king Henry, died. The antipope Octovian
died, and the schismatical emperor already mentioned appointed
1 This was Ferquhard, second earl of Strathern. Fordun, i. 450.
2 Fordun, i. 453. Hoved. 282. He was probably on his journey to or from
Woodstock, where he did homage to Henry the second on 1st July. SeeDiceto, 536.
VOL. IV. K
130 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1164—
a second antipope, Wido of Crema. Sumerled, the under-king
of Eregeithel [Argyll], who had been in a state of wicked rebellion
for twelve years against his natural lord, Malcolm, king of Scot
land, landed at Renfriu, with a large army which he had collected
together in Ireland and various other places ; but at length God's
vengeance overtook him, and he and his son,1 and a countless
number of his followers, were there slain by a few of the people of
that district. Herbert, bishop of Glasgow, died, and was succeeded
by Engelram, the king's chancellor, who was consecrated by pope
Alexander at the city of Sens, on the day of the apostles St. Simon
and St. Jude [28th Oct.], although the messengers of the arch
bishop of York 2 strongly opposed this. The venerable Thomas,
archbishop of Canterbury, retired from England, in consequence of
the intolerable injuries which had been inflicted upon the holy
church . . . . 3 by the king of England. The archbishop of York
came to Norham, to exercise his legative office through Scotland ;
but the messengers of the king of Scotland resisted him, and
opposed his legative office, whereupon he returned in confusion.
A.D. 1165. Richard, the chaplain of king Malcolm, was con
secrated at St. Andrew's, in Scotland, by the . . . . 4 bishops of
that realm, upon Palm Sunday, which this year fell upon the fifth
of the kalends of April [28th March]. And Henry, king of England,
passed the sea; and, after his return, he marched into Wales with a
great army, where he slew many people, and executed justice upon
the two sons of king Ris, and upon the sons and daughters of his
nobles : he put out the eyes of the boys, and cut off the ears and
noses of the girls. In the month of August, two comets appeared
before sunrise, one in the south and the other in the north. A
comet is a star which is not always visible, but which appears most
frequently upon the death of a king, or on the destruction of
a kingdom. When it appears with a crown of shining rays, it
portends the decease of a king ; but if it has streaming hair,
and throws it off, as it were, then it betokens the ruin of the
country. There was a great tempest in the province of York during
that same month. Many people saw the old enemy taking the lead
in that tempest ; he was in the form of a black horse of large size,
and always kept hurrying towards the sea, while he was followed by
thunder and lightning, and fearful noises and a destructive hail. The
footprints of this accursed horse were of a very enormous size, espe
cially on the hill near the town of Scardeburch, from which he gave
a leap into the sea ; and here, for a whole year afterwards, they
were plainly visible, the impression of each foot being deeply graven
in the earth. The same tempest destroyed a mill on the river
Severn, with its inhabitants, with the exception of a single monk,
who, by God's mercy, was saved from the fire; but as a token that
God makes a difference among men, to give hope to unwavering
consolation, and chiefly for the praise of the Omnipotent, this
monk and his property escaped uninjured.
1 Fordun says that his son was called Gillecolan, i. 452.
2 Id. i. 461. Hoved. 293. 3 An erasure in the MSt
Another erasure occurs here.
A.D.1169.J CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 131
Pope Alexander returned from France to Rome, where he was
received with great honour, and accepted by nearly the whole of
Italy and Tuscany, and by the Milanese, although those who were
in schism rejecte'd his authority. Malcolm, the king of Scotland,
of pious memory, died at Gedeworth, on the fifth of the ides of
December [9th Dec.], which fell upon the fifth day of the week ;
he was in the twenty-fifth year of his age, and in the twelfth1 of his
reign. His corpse was carried to Dunfermelin by all the people,
with much honour, and there it was buried. William, his brother,
succeeded him ; and on the vigil of the Lord's Nativity [24th
Dec.] he was elevated to the throne, according to the kingly
manner. The Premonstratensian order came to Blanchelande.3
John, abbot of Kelso, came from Rome, a mitred abbot.
A.D. 1166. Henry, king of England, passed the sea, and was
followed by William, king of Scotland, the business of his lord so
requiring it ; but he returned ere long, after some military exploits
had been attempted. Earl Gospatric 3 died ; his son Waldeve suc
ceeded him.
A. D. 1 167. Aldred of pious memory, the third abbot of Rievaulx,
died ; he was succeeded by Silvanus, abbot of Dundrainan. Robert
de Melun, the venerable bishop of Hereford, died ; he was suc
ceeded by Robert de Foliot. Patric, the second abbot of Alnewic,
died ; Richard, the prior of the same place, succeeded him. The
empress Matilda, the mother of Henry the Second, the king of
England, died. The emperor Henry came in hostile manner to
Rome, to assist the party of Wido of Crema, the second antipope ;
and the one schismatic helping the other, Wido was intruded into
the church of St. Peter by violence and force of arms. But as he
and his army were returning home, a deadly pestilence broke out
among his people, and killed some of the principal of them. The
elect of Cologne, who was the head of the whole schism, died
while among the Alps ; and in order that his bones might be sepa
rated from the flesh, and that he might be removed to Cologne,
the whole body was boiled in water. For those leading men of his
who had been elected, but were not bishops, desired to have the
reliques of one whom they considered to be honourable, but whom
we hold to be a dishonoured person and an impostor.
A.D. 1168. Gilbert* of pious memory, the abbot of Citeaux,
died, and he was succeeded by Alexander, its tenth abbot. The
schismatical Wido, the second antipope, died ; then there was
raised up a third antipope, whose name is unknown, and which
may continue in obscurity. Robert, the good earl of Leicester,
died ; he was called the Chief Justice.
A. p. 1 169. Gregory, bishop of Dunkeld, died, and was succeeded
by Richard, the king's chaplain. By the king's orders, a vile and
1 This date has originally been xiii., but the last numeral has been erased; the
words et dimidio " (and a half) have then been added, and have afterwards
been struck through. According to Fordun, i. 457, he reigned twelve years,
three months, and seven days.
2 See Monast. Anglic, ii. 1015.
3 See Douglas's Scottish Peerage, i. 167; Fordun, i. 459; Hoved. 289.
* Gall. Christ, iv. 987.
K 2
132 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1169—
abominable conspiracy was formed throughout almost the whole of
England against our lord the pope Alexander, and the venerable
archbishop Thomas, at this time an exile in France. Hunbaud, the
prior of Weneloc, brought the convent to Passelet [Paisley],1 which
is near Renfriu.
A.D. 1170. Henry, king of England, returned home from Nor
mandy, and on the passage many perished by shipwreck. William,
the third abbot of Maylrose, humbly laid down his pastoral office
on the tenth of the kalends of May [22d April] ; and, on the same
day, Josceline the prior succeeded him. William, king of the
Scots, went to Windlesoure [Windsor], to visit king Henry. His
brother David was made a knight, on the octaves of Pentecost [3 1 st
May], by the king of England. Henry, king of England, caused
his youthful son Henry to be crowned; and on Sunday, the eleventh
of the kalends of June [22d May], he was consecrated king by
Roger, the usurping archbishop of York, who, contrary to the
canons, had taken upon himself to exercise, in another province,
functions and rights which did not belong to him ; and this he did
out of the king's tyranny as well as his own, although the venerable
Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, was still alive, and in banish
ment in France. On the festival of the apostles St. Peter and
St. Paul [29th June], a great and terrible earthquake suddenly
occurred in the east, beyond the Greek sea, where it overwhelmed
many cities and towns, along with their inhabitants, such as Tri-
polis, Gibellum, Laodicea, Antioch, and numerous others; but the
land of the infidels suffered still more severely, and a countless
number of them perished by the same earthquake. Richard, the
chaplain of king William, was consecrated bishop of Dunkeld, on
the vigil of St. Laurence [9th Aug.], by Richard, bishop of St. An
drew's, in the cathedral church of St. Andrew's. Godric, the
venerable hermit of Finchale, near Durham, died. Richard, earl
of Pembrok, the son of Gilbert earl Stranbohe, the son of Isabel,
the aunt of Malcolm and William, kings of Scotland, and of David,
the earl of good hope, with a great retinue of knights and sturdy
men, passed over into Ireland ; and, having been supported by the
assistance of a certain petty king of that land (whose daughter
he had married), he boldly stormed certain towns, along with the
principal city of that country, that is to say, Dublin ; and at length
obtained possession of it. Oswin, the sub-king of Wales, died.
Thomas, the venerable archbishop of Canterbury, having now been
appointed legate by pope Alexander, returned into England, by the
king's permission, about the feast of St. Andrew's [30th Nov.],
Pope Alexander suspended Roger, archbishop of York, from every
episcopal function ; as also Hugh, bishop of Durham, and Gilbert,
bishop of London ; and, indeed, all those who had been present at
the uncanonical coronation of Henry, the king's son.
A.D. 1171. Alas! what accursed wickedness, what a detestable
crime, what a horrible deed, what an unheard-of guilt ! Thomas,
archbishop of Canterbury, of blessed memory, the legate of the
apostolic see, the primate of all England, had now been struggling
1 See Spotiswood, p. 412.
A.D. 1171.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 133
for six years and longer for justice, and had been exiled into France
by reason of the violence of the elder Henry, king of England, and
had there endured innumerable injuries for the sake of Christ's
church ; for all who were connected with him, according to the
flesh, young and old, even to the infant who hung at the breast,
had been expelled from England by the most unjust command of
the king. At length, however, peace was fully confirmed between
the king and his archbishop, as it was thought, chiefly through the
instrumentality of our lord the pope and the court of Rome, and
of the French church, and chiefly of the religious king of France,
Louis : and so the archbishop was admitted by the king to the kiss
of peace, and permitted to depart into England with the king's
letters. But a few days after he had been restored to his see, the
king's anger was so hot against him — chiefly because, as we have
said, he had been entrusted by our lord the pope with the office of
legate, and because he had suspended the bishops — as to resemble,
and at the same time to surpass, that fury exhibited by the one
Herod against our Lord, and the other against John the Baptist,
that he was murdered against all right and justice, by the intimate
friends of the king, those most wicked barons and accursed knights.
This occurred in the cathedral church of the whole of England, in
the church of the Holy Trinity, before the holy altar of the blessed
Benedict, and in the presence of countless martyrs, confessors, and
virgins, whose reliques surrounded him everywhere in that fabric ;
and so he passed to his reward on the fifth day after the Nativity of
our Lord [29th Dec.], just as St. Thomas the apostle has his fes
tival five days before that same Nativity, on the day following the
Nativity of the Innocents, with whom he is to be associated in the
other life. Imitating our Lord, he prayed for his murderers, while
the right hand of one of his clergy, who bore his cross, was nearly
cut off. And then, alas! was this true martyr of Christ put to
death, the punishment due to the shedding of whose blood was
inflicted upon all those who had any share in the murder — pri
marily upon those who were the active perpetrators, and in a
secondary degree upon all who assisted in it, or consented to it, or
had any knowledge of it before its commission ; and all these dis
covered how that the sword of the Lord is a speedy avenger, and
the Highest will repay it.
Nicolas, the chancellor of the king of the Scots, died. Conan,
duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond, died. Ferchet, earl of
Strathern, died. The sea seemed, to many people in England,
to be a fire. Ralph, monk of Meylros, was chosen father of
Cupre, and received the benediction as abbot from Richard,
bishop of St. Andrew's, on the Purification of the blessed Virgin
[2d Feb.], at Coldingham. The tomb of an holy father, the
lord Wallef. the second abbot of Melros, was opened by Ingram,
bishop of Glasgow, of good memory, and by four abbots, who had
been invited for the purpose, and the body was discovered to be
entire, and the vestments unchanged. This occurred on the
eleventh of the kalends of June [22d May], in the twelfth year
after his decease. And after the holy solemnities of masses, tha
134 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. j>.D. 1171-—
same bishops and abbots whom we have mentioned, along with all
the inmates of the monastery, placed a new stone of polished
marble upon the remains of that most holy body. And there was
much rejoicing, and all who were present raised their voices and
said, " Truly this was a man of God." Pontius,1 abbot of Clair-
vaulx, of holy memory, was elected to the bishopric of Clairmont;
and so this pastor was translated and elevated from the valley to
the hill, from Clairvaulx to Clairmont, from one degree of bright
ness to another, as by the Spirit of the Lord [2 Cor. iii. 18].
Simon de Tonei, monk of Melrose,2 formerly abbot of Kogeshall,
was elected to the see of Murray, and conducted thither. Henry,
king of England, with a powerful army and in great force, went to
Ireland, passing over by sea. Aedward, bishop of Aberdeen, died.
A.D. 1172. There was an exceedingly strong wind on the day of
the Holy Innocents [28th Dec.]. The church of Canterbury was
reconciled and restored to peace by two cardinals, who had been
sent into France. Simon, bishop elect of Moray, received the privi
lege of consecration3 at St. Andrew's, in Scotland, upon the tenth of
the kalends of February [23d Jan.]. Matthew, archdeacon of St.
Andrew's, was elected to the bishopric of Aberdeen, and afterwards
was consecrated on the fourth of the nones of April [2d April], on
the day4 of our Lord's passion. Henry, king of England, returned
from Ireland after Easter.
A.D. 1173. Pope Alexander the third canonized5 the blessed
Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, on Ash- Wednesday [21st
Feb.], at Anagnia, and commanded that his memorial should be
inscribed in the catalogue of the saints ; and he further enjoined,
by his apostolic authority, that the day of his passion should be
held and celebrated as a festival. He himself devoutly (as was his
custom) sang the first mass to the memory of the martyr, in the
presence of an innumerable body of clergy and laity ; and he made
solemn mention of him in the collect, and in the secret, and in the
post-communion. And he who saw and heard beareth witness.
A dispute and a war, which may almost be styled inexorable,
arose between the belly and the bowels, between the parent and the
child, between Henry the elder and Henry the younger, king of
England; and so that the latter (who, though he was a youth, was
yet a knight and a king) secretly departed by night, with all speed,
to the king of France, his father-in-law, induced to take this step
in consequence of some annoyances and injuries which he had ex
perienced at the hands of his father. It is said that he did this by
the advice of his mother, but of this we are in ignorance; let her
see to it, and let Him judge. The father had intended to capture
his son, and to put him in a sure and close place of custody; so
1 Gall. Christ, iv. 801.
2 According to the Chronicle of Coggeshall in the Cottonian MS. Vesp. D. x.
fol. 47, Simon de Tony returned to Melrose in 1168.
3 The Cottonian MS. Vesp. D. x. fol. 48, contains the following entry : — " On the
tenth of the kalends of February occurred the ordination (consecration) of the
lord Simon, the bishop of Moray; he had formerly been abbot of Coggeshall."
4 That is, on the fifth Sunday in Lent, or Passion Sunday.
5 The correct date is 2d April. See the abstract of the bull in Jaff6, p. 754.
A.D. 1174.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 135
at least common report goes. Many noble and powerful indi
viduals, and men well skilled in the art of war, accompanied him,
as well from England as from Normandy; and strengthened by
their counsel and assistance, the son (we should rather have said
the sons) rose against the father; and thus the provinces, as well on
this side the sea as those beyond it, being stirred up by wars and
rumours of wars, rushed to arms, and prepared for the battle.
Hereupon William, king of the Scots, hoping that he would find
a remedy for old injuries in this new strife, waged a fierce war
against his kinsman and lord, Henry, king of England, following
herein evil counsels. At the head of a very large army, he laid
siege to the castle which is called Were; and having lingered there
for some little time, he made no progress. The king proceeded
onwards, and the Scots cruelly destroyed the greater part of North
umberland with fire, and with great ferocity put the inhabitants
to the sword. They fell back upon Carlisle, and assaulted the city
with all their forces; but some people having pretended that the
English army was advancing upon them, they speedily took to flight.
Great and unprecedented miracles were performed throughout
all England, by the blessed martyr, Thomas, the archbishop. There
was a fearful thunderstorm on the seventeenth of the kalends of
September [16th Aug.]. A dangerous and unusual cough seized
nearly every one far and near ; in or after which disease many
died. Robert, earl of Leicester, and his wife, were taken prisoners
in the territory of St. Edmund's, and placed in the strictest custody.
Moreover, a countless multitude of the Flemings left their own
country to take possession of England ; but they finished their ex
pedition as well as their life in the same spot as the earl. Blessed
be God, who cuts off the wicked, that they may not destroy the
just!
A.D. 1174. Ingeram, of good memory, the bishop of Glasgow,
died, upon the day of the Purification of the blessed Mary [2d
Feb.]. Upon the kalends of March [1st March], Ascelin, the first
abbot of Kinlos, in Moray, died ; and in his place, Reiner, a monk
of Melrose, succeeded. Osbert, the first abbot of Jeddeworth,
died ; his successor was Richard, the cellerar of the same place.
Joscelin, the abbot of the monastery of Melrose, the fourth in
succession, was chosen bishop of the church of Glasgow, by the
clergy, at the request of the people, and by the assent of the king,
upon the tenth of the kalends of June [23d May], at Perth, in
Scotland. He was a meek man, and well mannered ; of a gentle
and moderate disposition. William, king of Scotland, sent his
army to Alnwick the second time, or rather he conducted it
thither ; he put to flight many, and many he killed. Amidst these
tempests, Henry the elder, the king of England, came to England.
Stung to the heart with repentance, and of "a contrite spirit, he walked
barefoot, clothed in woollen garments ; and immediately upon his
arrival in his own realm, he visited the sepulchre of the blessed
Thomas of Canterbury, attended by a numerous body of bishops
and nobles, and there he did penance for his sins, and entreated for
reconciliation. On the morrow, William, king of the Scots, was
136 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1174—
taken prisoner at Alnwick, and conducted (sorrowing as he went)
to Richmond, where he was kept in custody for a time, but with
all due respect. As soon as the intelligence reached the king of
England, by his orders he was sent across into Normandy, and this
welcome treasure was laid up in safety in the tower of Falaise.
When his younger brother, earl David, was aware of this, he hastily
abandoned Leicester, which he was besieging, and he and his
followers took themselves back to Scotland as they best might. The
blessed Bernard, the first abbot of Clairvaux, was solemnly canon
ized by our lord the pope, Alexander the third, in the city of
Rome; and it was appointed by the apostolic authority that a me
morial of him should be inscribed in the catalogue [of the saints].
A.D. 1175. William, king of Scotland, and his people, returned
home to their own country. Joceline, the bishop elect of the church
of Glasgow, was consecrated bishop by Eskil, archbishop of Lund,
the legate of the apostolic see, and the primate of all Denmark,
at Clairvaux, at the command of pope Alexander the third. Our
monk Laurence, who had formerly been an abbot in Orkney, was
elected on the second of the ides of May [14th May]; and on the
day following the Ascension of our Lord [21st May], he was
honourably blessed as abbot in our church, by Joceline, bishop of
Glasgow. The church of Clairvaux was dedicated; and the reliques
of St. Bernard, the first abbot of Clairvaux, were translated with
honour, and placed within the church with the reverence due to
such a holy man. The earls and barons, and all the greater and
more powerful personages through the realm of Scotland, did their
allegiance to Henry, king of England, in the presence of William,
their king, and gave him hostages ; and the bishops of the same
kingdom swore fealty to him upon the Word of Truth. This was
done at York.
A. D. 1 176. Wivian, presbyter cardinal by the title of St. Stephen
in the Celian mount, the legate of the apostolic see, came into Scot
land, treading down and crushing under foot everything in his
road ; being always ready to receive, and no sluggard in plundering.
Earl Richard, surnamed Strangboge, died in Ireland. A dispute
arose between Walter, abbot of Tirone, and John, abbot of Kelso,
concerning subjection, whether of them should be the greater.
A.D. 1 177. Frederic, the emperor of the Romans, returned to the
worship of a Christian, and to the unity of holy mother church; and
coming to Venice, he both promised and performed due reverence
to pope Alexander the third, in the church of St. Mark ; and in
token of their good faith, and of the firmness of the treaty into
which they had entered, they mutually kissed each other. Cardinal
Vivian, on his return from Ireland, summoned the prelates of the
realm of Scotland to meet him at Edinburgh, and there he sat in
the council. Roger, the first abbot of Driburgh, resigned the care
of the sheep, and the prior Gerard succeeded him in that office.
Walter1 Fitz-Alan, the steward of the king of Scotland, our inti
mate friend, died. May his blessed soul live in glory!
1 Walter Fitz-Alan was a considerable benefactor to the monastery of Melrose.
See Morton's Monastic Annals, pp. 266, 275.
A.D. 1180.} CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 13?
A.D. 1178. Richard, bishop of Dunkeld, died, and also Richard,
bishop of St. Andrew's. Master John, surnamed the Scot, was
elected to the bishopric of St. Andrew's ; but king William re
sisted his election with all his power, and relying upon his kingly
authority, he caused his chaplain, Hugh, to be consecrated bishop
of the church of St. Andrew's. Hence arose a grievous dispute *
and a dangerous schism. The sun grew pale at midday, and was
nearly obscured upon the ides of September [13th Sept.]. Holland
was submerged. The countess Ada died. She was the mother of
Malcolm and William, kings of Scotland, and of earl David. Laurence,
of pious memory, the fifth abbot of Melrose, died; he was a man
of extraordinary humility and gentleness, and well skilled in the
scriptures. Geoffrey, abbot of Dunfermelin, died; and Walter2 de
Bidun, the chancellor of the king of Scots, was elected to the
church of Dunkeld.
A.D. 1179. Ernald, the sixth abbot of Melrose, received the
blessing from Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, in our church, upon the
day of our Lord's epiphany [6th Jan.]. Pope Alexander the third
celebrated a great council at Rome, in the church which is called
the church of Constantine, upon the " Leetare Hierusalem," which
was on the fifth of the ides of March [llth March], in the
twentieth year of his pontificate. In the same council Henry,3
abbot of Clairvaux, was elected bishop of the church of Alba ; and
he was consecrated by our lord pope Alexander, in the church of
St. Mary, which is called Narcissa, on the third Sunday after
Easter [15th April], on which "Vocem jucunditatis " is sung.
Reinald, the first abbot4 of St. Thomas the martyr in Scotland,
and Adam, the parson of Dunbar, died. There died also Amfrid,
the second abbot of Newbottle, on the fourteenth of the kalends of
September [19th Aug.]; and Alina, countess of Dunbar, died on the
thirteenth of the kalends of September [20th Aug.]. On the day
of St. Bartholomew the apostle [24th Aug.] there was a severe
storm of thunder and lightning throughout the whole of Helie-
landeschire. William, king of Scotland, and his brother David, with
the earls and barons of the land, and accompanied by a large and
powerful army, proceeded to Ros, and there they fortified two
castles ; the name of the one was Dunscath, and of the other
Etherdover.
A.D. 1180. John, abbot of Kelso, died; Osbert, prior of St.
Machutus, succeeded. A great dispute between the house of Mel
rose and Richard de Moreve, concerning the forest and pasture
between the Galge and Ledre, was decided at Haddington, upon
mid-Lent Sunday [30th March], in the presence of William, the
king of the Scots, and earl David his brother, and before a large
body of persons, as well ecclesiastics as laymen ; and, by the
1 The disputes which took place between the see of Rome and the king of Scot
land are detailed by Hoveden.
2 Fordun (i. 475) states that "Walter de Bidun succeeded to Dunkeld ; whilst
Keith (p. 76) and the author of the Caledonia (i. 712) consider this entry as his
obit. 3 See Gall. Christ, iv. 802.
4 Reginald was the first abbot of Aberbrothoc, founded by King William in
honour of Thomas Beoket. See Fordun, i. 479.
138 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1180—
assistance of God, the justice of their cause gained the suitforthe
monks upon this occasion ; so that by the force of their title-deeds,
and by the authority of the privileges granted them by the church
of Rome, the property was adjudicated1 to them. Baldwin, abbot
of Ford, a man venerable and to be esteemed from his learning
and holiness, was chosen bishop of Worcester, and God regarded
his lowliness ; for although the excellence of his life placed him
far above others, yet his humility alone exalted him in God's sight.
He did not value the world — nay, he despised it ; nor did he strive
after its honours, but disregarded them. Alexis,2 a subdeacon of the
holy Roman church and the nuncio of the apostolic see, in order
that he might know the truth respecting the church of St. Andrew's,
came into the kingdom of Scotland, with John the elect [bishop],
king William with difficulty assenting thereto. He was the cause
of annoyance to many, and he provoked to anger the heart of the
king. John, the elect of St. Andrew's, was sent to the court,
after having been confirmed by pope Alexander; but out of regard
to the dignity of the church of St. Andrew's, and for the king's
honour, permission was granted that he might be consecrated in his
episcopal see by such bishops as he should choose. But Alexis,
after much deliberation and many grievances, and after he had
excommunicated some of the king's clerks, and even placed the
bishopric of St. Andrew's under interdict, at last caused the afore
said John to be honourably consecrated bishop in the see which we
have mentioned; and this was done by the pope's command, in a
large meeting of bishops, abbots, and religious personages, who
assembled at Edinburgh, in the church of Holyrood, on the octaves
of Pentecost, that is to say, on the sixth of the ides of June [8th3
June], Matthew, bishop of Aberdeen, being the consecrating bishop.
But John, when consecrated, finding that he had no see, and being
afraid of the king and apprehensive of the anger of the nobles,
immediately fled from the province, and sorrowfully betook himself
to a place of greater safety.
A.D. 1181. William de4 Tulosa, of pious memory, abbot of
Citeaux, died, and was succeeded by Peter de Pontiniac. Louis,
king of France, being a pious and religious man, despised this evil
world, having resigned to his son Philip the realm which he had
energetically governed for forty-four years, and afterwards (God
directing him) he humbly retired to an abbey of the Cistercian
order, called Port, which he himself had founded ; and in the same
year he happily departed from the body of this death. Matters of
business required that William, king of the Scots, and earl David
his brother, should go to the parts beyond the sea, to king Henry the
elder. In many localities throughout England there were great
storms of thunder and lightning, and tempests of wind, and floods
of waters. There were done many and great miracles at St. Edmund's,
by the blessed youth Robert, whom a Jew had cruelly put to
1 An extract from the charter given by William to the convent in confirmation
of this decision, is printed in Morton's Monastic Annals, p 217.
2 See Fordun, i. 352 ; Hoved. 341.
3 These dates do not coincide.
4 Concerning this abbot and his successor, see Gall. Christ, iv. 988, 989.
A. D. 1184.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 139
death in secrecy. The like extraordinary occurrences happened at
Huntingdon, in regard to another boy named Herbert, whom his
own father had cruelly bound to a stake, and miserably drowned in
the river which runs near the town. A comet appeared in the
month of July. Bishop Joceline enlarged his episcopal residence,
and magnificently extended the church of St. Kentegern. On the
third of the kalends of September [30th Aug.] died pope Alex
ander the third, of pious memory, in the twenty-third year of his
pontificate. He was succeeded by Lucius the third, who was pre
viously known as Hubald, bishop of Ostia. Robert, archbishop of
York, died on the tenth of the kalends of December [22d Nov.],
in the twenty-seventh year of his episcopate.
A.D. 1182. Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, and E[rnald], abbot of
Melrose, and Osbert, abbot of Kelso, with many other men of con
sequence, went to Rome1 upon the affairs of the king and the king
dom ; and having, by God's help, cautiously and prudently accom
plished their mission, they returned hale and happy to their own
homes. Pope Lucius the third transmitted by them a golden rose
to William, the king of the Scots, along with his paternal blessing.
The elder Henry, king of England, passed the sea; and, by God's
assistance, he brought about a peace between Philip, king of France,
and Philip, earl of Flanders. Waldeve,2 earl of Dunbar, died,
and was succeeded by his son Patrick. The emperor Frederic
compelled his nephew, Henry, the duke of Saxony, the son-in-law
of Henry, king of England, to go into exile, in consequence of
some injustice inflicted upon him ; and so he was compelled to
betake himself to king Henry in Normandy, where, accompanied
by his own family, he arrived sorrowing and lamenting. But he
was honourably received, and a place of residence was assigned him
during his period of banishment. During the month of September
many fishermen and their vessels miserably perished at sea,
between Hartlepool and Whitby, during the night.
A.D. 1183. William, king of the Scots, gave, in honourable
manner, his daughter Isabella in marriage to Robert de Brus.
She was his issue by the daughter of Robert Avenel. A disgraceful
and unnatural feud arose among the sons of Henry, king of Eng
land, the issue of one mother, whence many evils originated, and
many met their death. The younger Henry, king of England,
died during the fourteenth year after he had been crowned ; this
occurred on the third of the ides of June [llth June], at a town
called Martel.
A.D. 1184. Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, died. Out of
regard to the peace of the church and of the poor, Henry, king of
England, although unwillingly, yet did his homage to Philip, king of
France, and after Pentecost 3 returned prosperously into England.
Peter,4 abbot of Citeaux, was elected to the bishopric of Araz, and
was succeeded by the abbot 5 of Fontenei. William, king of
1 See Hoved. 351. 2 Douglas's Peerage, ii. 168.
3 Whitsunday fell upon 20th May.
4 See GalL Christ, iv. 988, and iii. 328.
5 Namely, Bernard; Id. iv. 988 and 493.
140 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1184—
Scotland, gave his daughter Ada in marriage to earl Patrick.
Simon, bishop of Moray, one of our congregation, died on the fif
teenth of the kalends of October [l?th Sept.]. By God's blessing,
the dispute was decided l which had existed between the church of
Melrose and the men of Wedhale respecting the pasture of the
king's forest. This was done at Crosselige by Richard de Morville,
the king's constable, and by twelve other faithful men, on the day
of St. Luke the evangelist [18th Oct.], in the presence of king
William, and his brother earl David, and of many other earls,
barons, and people of station. Upon that occasion the twelve
jurors made oath in the king's presence, tremblingly and reverently,
and upon the reliques of our church; and they affirmed as truth
that the king's forest extends as far as the road which runs towards
the west of the church of the blessed Mary of Wedhale, and that
the pasture of the church of Melrose extends as far as to the
boundaries of Wedhale, and as far as the brook called Fasseburn ;
and this they hold by the gift of three kings, namely, David, Mal
colm, and William, and it is confirmed and established beyond
doubt or dispute, by the bulls of four or five Roman pontiffs.
The venerable Baldwin, bishop of Worcester, was elected arch
bishop of Canterbury.
A.D. 1185. Andrew, bishop of Caithness, of pious memory,
died at Dunfermlin, on the third of the kalends of January [30th
Dec.]. William, formerly abbot of Melrose, of pious memory,
died at Rievaulx.
Robert Avenel,2 a novice, an intimate friend, died on the eighth
of the ides of March [8th March]. He gave to God, and to St.
Mary, and to the monks of Melrose, his land of Heskedale, as is
witnessed by his charter. May his blessed soul live for ever in
glory!
Eraclius, patriarch of Jerusalem, and the prior of the hospital
of Jerusalem, came, with difficulty and in grief, to Henry, king
of England, humbly intreating his aid and advice; but he did
not receive them with the respect and honour which was due to
them, as well as to himself.
Henry, king of England, gave, at Windsor, the earldom of Hunt
ingdon to William, king of Scotland, as honourably and fully as
he had held it before the war. There was a great earthquake
throughout England during the month of April. The sun was
eclipsed on the kalends of May [1st May], on the fourth day of
the week [Wednesday] in the afternoon, and the stars became
visible. A battle was fought in Galloway, upon the fourth of the
nones of July, being the fifth day of the week [Thursday, 4th July],
between Roland and Gillepatric, in which many were killed on the
side of the latter, and he himself was slain with the rest. Roland
fought a second battle against Gillecolm, in which Roland's brother
fell, and Gillecolm 3 was killed.
1 See Morton's Monastic Annals, p. 217.
2 Concerning this individual, and his benefactions to the church of Melrose.
see Morton's Monastic Annals, p. 273.
3 See Fordun, i. 490; and Hoved. 358.
A.D. 1187.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 141
Pope Lucius the third died, and was succeeded by Urban the
third.
A.D. 1186. At a city which is called Dune, in Ireland, were dis
covered the bodies of certain saints, namely, of St. Patrick, the
bishop of St. Columbanus the abbot, and of St. Brigid the virgin.
Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, the son of Henry, king of England,
died at Paris l, abbot of Citeaux, died, and was suc
ceeded by William, abbot of Pratea. Henry, king of England,
came to Carlisle in the month of August, with a great army,
against Roland. But Roland came to him, under the safe conduct
of king William, and did him homage. William, king of the
Scots, married a relation of Henry, king of England, named Er-
mengarda ; 2 she was the daughter of the count of Beaumont, who
was the son of the daughter of the elder son of William the
Bastard. The marriage took place with great magnificence, on the
nones of September [5th Sept.] (being the sixth day of the week
[Friday], the moon being in her eighteenth day), in the royal chapel
in the park at Woodstock, in the presence of the king himself.
Christian, bishop of Whitherne, of pious memory, died at Holm-
cultram, on the nones of October [7th Oct.]. Peter,3 abbot of
Clairvaux, died, and was succeeded by Guarnerius, abbot of Alta
ripa [Auberive].
A.D. 1187. On Sunday, the kalends of March [1st March],
Richard, the clerk of king William, was elected to the bishopric of
Moray; and on the ides of the same month [15th March], on the day
of our Lord's passion, he was consecrated at St. Andrew's, in Scot
land, by Hugh, bishop of the same church. Arthur, the son of earl
Geoffrey, was born in Brittany, on the kalends of April [1st April],
being Easter 4 eve ; his mother was Constance, the daughter of
Margaret, the sister of Malcolm and William, kings of Scotland.
The Turks, those enemies of God, violated the church of St.
Mary of Nazareth, and slew many people ; and there the Master
of the Hospital 5 and five of his knights were killed, as well as
many others, on the day of the apostles Philip and James [1st
May]. On the Friday after, the feast of the apostles Peter and
Paul [3d July], Saladin, king of Babylon, along with more than
eighty thousand soldiers, invaded the kingdom of Jerusalem, and
took Tiberias by storm, against whom the king of Jerusalem
marched with his troops a day's journey towards Tabarum. Having
reached a rocky eminence, the king found himself compelled to give
battle to the enemies who pressed upon him from every quarter, the
barons agreeing thereto. Here the Christians were assailed by king
Saladin, with his trumpeters and a countless multitude of soldiers,
who attacked them with every species of warfare, while they could
1 His name was Bernard. Concerning him and his successor, see Gall. Christ,
iv. 989.
2 The grandmother of this Ermengard was a natural daughter of Henry L,
king of England. Concerning the marriage, see Hoved. 360.
3 See Gall. Christ, iv. 803, for some account of these two individuals.
4 Easter Sunday fell upon April 3rd.
^5 See I/Art de Vdrif. les Dates, v. 67, ed. 8vo.; also Gervase, col. 1502; Hoved.
361.
142 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1187—
offer very little resistance, in consequence of the rugged and broken
nature of the ground. They were defeated; and Saladin's nephew,
Tochedin, captured as well the king who had taken to flight, as also
the cross of our Lord ; while nearly all the others were defeated,
captured, put in chains, or killed. Saladin forthwith caused the
Knights Templars and Hospitallers to be separated from the rest,
and then beheaded while he looked on. With his own hands he
killed prince Reinald de Castellione ; and on that day, as is re
ported upon good authority, there were beheaded two hundred and
thirty of the brethren of the Temple, exclusive of the six hundred
who had fallen on the first day of May.
William, king of Scotland, at the head of a considerable army,
marched into Moray against Macwilliam ; J and when the king had
reached the town of Inverness with his troops, the earls of Scotland
sent their men on the pillage, and they discovered Macwilliam and
his followers upon the mount which is called Mamgarvey,2 near
Moray. They immediately attacked him, and, by God assistance,
they killed him and many of his people on the day before the
kalends of August [31st July],3 being the sixth day of the week
[Friday] . Blessed be God who delivers up the wicked !
Pope Urban the third died on the 4th of the kalends of Novem
ber [29th Oct.], and on the kalends of the same month [1st Nov.]
Gregory the eighth was elected. He had been chancellor, and he
was called " Pannosus," according to the translation of abbot
,4 and he was consecrated on the eighth of the kalends of
the same month [24th Nov.] . On the sixteenth of the kalends of
January [17th Dec.], pope Gregory the eighth died, and on the
fourteenth of the kalends of the same month [19th Dec.], Clement
the fourth was elected, and consecrated on the following day.
A.D. 1188. Philip, king of the Franks, and Henry, king of the
English, and Richard, earl of Aquitaine, and Philip, earl of
Flanders, and archbishops, and bishops, and earls, and barons, and
a countless multitude of the people, rich and poor, and the nobility,
of both sexes, pierced by repentance of heart, devoutly took the
cross, the sign of our redemption.
Henry, king of England, held a conference after the Purification
of the blessed Mary [2d Feb.], at Gaeitun, with his bishops, earls,
barons, and nobility, clergy and laity, concerning various matters
of business, and there many of them assumed the cross, although
conditionally; and the king ordered and strictly enjoined them
that they should give the tithes of all their property in England for
the relief of the land of Jerusalem, which the Lord had formerly
visited for our redemption. Henry, the cardinal, the bishop of the
church of Albano, formerly abbot of Clairvaux, died there.
Richard de Morville, the constable, and his wife Avice, and
William, their heir, gave to God and St. Mary, and the monks of
1 See Fordun, i. 480, 499; Hoved. 362.
2 Called Macgarvey by Fordun, as cited above
1 Hailes (i 130) and Chalmers (i. 631) both err in the date, although they cite
this Chronicle and Fordun as their authorities.
4 A blank space in the original. See Pagi, A. D. 1187, § 14.
A.D. 1190.J CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 143
Melrose, in perpetual alms, the land called Pare,1 as is witnessed
by their charter. May their good gifts be had in eternal remem
brance ! Hugh, the bishop of St. Andrew the apostle, died. Sil-
vanus, the fourth abbot of Rievalx, humbly and entirely laid down
his stewardship to God at Dundreinan.
A.D. 1189. Aernald, abbot of Melrose, was elected to the cure
of souls at Rievalx, on the sixth of the nones of March [Thursday,
2d March], on the fifth day of the week; and Reiner, abbot of
Kynlos, a monk of our church, was elected as abbot of Melrose,
on the tenth of the kalends of April [Thursday, 23d March], on the
fifth day of the week ; and Ralph, the prior of Melrose, took the cure
of souls at Kynlos after him. Roger, the kinsman and chancellor
of king William, was elected to the bishopric of St. Andrew the
apostle, upon the ides of April [Friday, 13th April],2 being the
sixth day of the week, at Perth.
John de Anagnia, the cardinal, and four archbishops, and many
bishops, and prelates of various ranks, by the command of pope
Clement the fourth, pronounced the sentence of excommuni
cation against all persons, as well clergy as laymen, who should
impede the accomplishment of a treaty between the two kings
of France and England (who were there present, along with earl
Richard, and a large assemblage of the people) and the said earl
Richard, or should thwart the expedition to Jerusalem. This
sentence was pronounced against such persons as the enemies of
our Lord's cross (through which arises our life), near the place
called " Feritas Bernardi" [La Ferte Bernard], where they had
their interview.
Henry, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and
earl of Anjou, died at the town of Chinon, on the day before the
nones of July [6th July], in the thirty-fifth year of his reign, and
he was buried at Fontevrauld, in the abbey of the nuns who
there serve God. Richard his son, the earl of Aquitaine, succeeded
him ; he was crowned with great honour at London, by Baldwin,
archbishop of Canterbury, and by the other bishops and prelates
of England, upon Sunday, the third of the nones of September
[3d Sept.].
Ralph, the second abbot of Cupre, died on the kalends of August
[Thursday, 1st Aug.],3 being the fifth day of the week ; his suc
cessor was Adam, the sub-prior of Melrose. Silvanus, formerly
abbot of Rievalx, of pious memory, died on the seventh of the ides
of October [9th Oct.], at Belelande, and was honourably buried
there. Richard de Morville,4 the constable of king William, died;
he was a firm friend of ours. The emperor Frederick was drowned
in a river.
A.D. 1190. William, king of the Scots,5 gave ten thousand
marks of gold and silver to Richard, king of the English, that
he might recover his dignities, liberties, and honours, which he had
1 See Morton's Monastic Annals, p. 263.
a The thirteenth of April fell upon a Thursday.
3 The first of August fell upon a Tuesday ; the dates here do not agree.
4 He had become an inmate of the abbey of Melrose. See Monastic Annals,
p. 263. 5 See Rymer's Foed. i. 50.
144 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1190—
possessed before the war, and obtain possession of Berwick and
Roxburgh, which king Henry had detained from him by violence
for sixteen years. Thus, by God's assistance, with dignity and
honour to himself, he removed from the kingdom of the Scots the
grievous yoke of that state of superiority and slavery to which it
had been thus subjected.
Humbly abandoning their kingdoms, homes, and honours, for
the sake of Christ, Philip, king of France, Richard, king of Eng
land, and Philip, earl of Flanders, in company with Baldwin,
archbishop of Canterbury, and many other archbishops and prelates,
princes and dukes, nobles and rich men, and an innumerable
multitude of the common people, set out for Jerusalem ; and
having reached the city of Messana, in Sicily, there they remained
all the winter until the month of April. Archbishop Baldwin1
died at Aeon, on the day of St. Edmund [20th Nov.]. Robert,
earl of Leicester, Annand, and St. Giles, was taken with sickness,
and, dying while in the Mediterranean sea, was buried at Duraz, a
city in Greece ; whereupon his son Robert 2 became earl at Mes
sana, in Sicily. The blood of the Jews was shed in many places in
England, as if they had been brute beasts : this occurred chiefly in
York, where they killed each other. Hereupon they were all
expelled. Earl David married the sister of Ralph, earl of Chester,
(her name was Matilda,) on the Sunday first after the Assumption
of St. Mary [26th Aug.].
A.D. 1191. On the kalends of January [1st Jan.] died Avicia,
the wife of Richard de Mereville, the constable of king William.
The king of Scots gave his daughter Ysembel (the widow of Robert
de Brus), in marriage to Robert de Ross, at Haddington. [4Baldwin,
archbishop of Canterbury (of our order), died in the Land of
Promise, as also Ralph de Granville. Robert, earl of Leicester,
died near Brundusium; and the king of England gave his earldom
of Leicester, and all the other lands which he had held, to his son,
Robert de Bretoil, and made him earl thereof at the city of Mes
sana, in Sicily]. Pope Clement the fourth died on the fourth of
the nones of April [2d April] ; and on the following day Celestine
the third, formerly cardinal Jacinctus, succeeded him. On the
third of the kalends of April [30th March], the king of France
went on board his fleet, being on his voyage to Jerusalem; and he
was conducted on his way with great pomp by the king of England
and the earl of Flanders, in their galleys. On the fourth of the ides
of April [10th April], the king of England and his army embarked
in one hundred and fifty ships, and six . . . , and twenty -five lesser
vessels, all English bottoms : he took along with him his sister
Johanna, and the princess of Navarre, whom he was about to
marry. The king of England appointed Arthur, duke of Brittany,
as his heir, as well of England as of his other possessions, should it
1 See Gervase, col. 1678. 2 Dugd. Baron, i. 88.
3 See Dugd. Baron, i. 41, where this individual is erroneously styled the earl of
Angus. See also Hoved. f. 388.
* The passage here printed between brackets is marked for omission in the
original MS ; the substance of it has already been incorporated in the Chronicle.
A.D. 1193.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 145
happen that he himself should die without issue; and this he
caused to be confirmed by the oath of his bishops, earls, and
barons. There was an eclipse of the sun at six o'clock on the
vigil of St. John the Baptist, being Sunday, the ninth of the
kalends of July [23d June].
VA.D. 1192. Richard, abbot of Gedewurthe, died, and was suc
ceeded on the fourth of the kalends of June [29th May], by Ralph,
a canon of the same church. Everard,1 of pious memory, the
first abbot of Holmcultram, died ; his successor was Gregory,
the under- cellarer. Philip, earl of Flanders, died in the land of
Jerusalem. After his death Philip, king of France, influenced by
covetousness, returned into France from the land of promise with
out delay, and, more like a heathen man than a Christian, he un
justly invaded, took, and cruelly destroyed the lands, vills, towns,
and castles, belonging to the king of England, in Normandy, while
he was imprisoned by the emperor ; and this he did contrary to
peace and justice, and in violation of his oath, and the agreement
to which he had sworn.
A.D. 1193. William, king of the Scots, gave his daughter Mar
garet to Eustace de Vesci, at Rokesburch ; she was his issue by the
daughter of Adam de Hythusum. King William sent two thousand
marks of silver from Rokesburch for the redemption of king
Richard. Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, gave2 to God and St.
Mary of Melrose the church of the bishop St. Kentegern of
Hastanedene, in pure and perpetual alms, for the good of his soul
and the souls of his predecessors and successors ; and this he did
before many witnesses, as his charter testifies. May his blessed
spirit be for ever in eternal glory, and in happy memory !
Duncan, the son of Gilebert of Galwey, gave to God and to St.
Mary, and to the monks of Melrose, a certain portion of his lands
in Karec, which is called Maybothel, in perpetual alms, for the
health of his own soul and of the souls of all his relatives, in the
presence of bishop Joscelin and many witnesses, as his charter 3
avouches.
Many persons laid wait, carefully, for Richard, king of England,
as he was returning from the land of promise, in the month of
November, that they might betray him, and make him prisoner.
At length (God so permitting it), he was captured by the men of
Leopold, duke of Austria, and was unwillingly carried off, and
placed in ward, much to his sorrow. He was afterwards sent to
Henry, the emperor of Germany, in whose custody he was kept
for more than a whole year, until he should give hostages, and pay
the price of his delivery ; yet all this while he was treated with
respect. See how unexpected and how rapid are the changes of
the false and transitory dignities of this world ; see how variable
and unstable are the security and the protection afforded by the
fleeting glories of the present life ; see how lamentable, how full of
1 See Dugd. Mocast. v. 593, ed. Ellis.
2 Morton, in his Monastic Annals, p. 272, cites the Cartulary of Melrose for the
particulars of this grant.
3 See the authority last cited, p. 274.
VOL. IV. L
14(3 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1193— .
tears is the blind and corruptible ambition of secular power, or of
one's own will. To-day a king, to-morrow a captive ; to-day in
power, to-morrow in prison ; to-day rich, to-morrow poor ; to-day
a freeman, to-morrow a slave. Be wise, therefore, ye judges of
the world, come and see the works of the Lord, — see a king made
wretched, a proud man humbled, a rich man beggared ! Where
now is thy boasting ? where is thy loftiness, O vain and hollow
pride of man? Behold, it mounteth up like smoke, and then
vanisheth away, and withers and dies like a flower of the field.
A.D. 1194. On the evening of the third of the ides of March
[13th March], being Sunday, king Richard arrived in England,
and disembarked at Sandwich with great joy, on his return from
his imprisonment and residence abroad ; and in the octaves of
Easter [17th April], being the fifteenth of the kalends of May, he
was crowned at Winchester by Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury.
After this, that is to say, during the week before our Lord's Ascen
sion [12th — 19th May], he passed over into Normandy with a large
body of soldiers. After he had arrived there, Philip, king of
France, laid siege to Verneuil, with a considerable number of
troops, and various warlike engines, but he returned thence into
France in confusion ; and he went out of his direct road to burn
down the city of Evreux, along with its cathedral church, and its
two abbeys, one for monks, and the other for nuns ; and he carried
off with him into France the reliques of that place. Then about
the festival of St. Botulf [17th June], he captured in " Silva
Leonis," and imprisoned at Etampes, Robert, earl of Leicester,
who had foolishly come out from Rouen, attended by only twenty
knights. In the meantime the king of England had taken a town
of France called Mirabel, and had levelled it with the ground.
Marching from thence to Vendome, he put to flight the king of
France, who was making preparations for the siege of that town ;
and on the third of the nones of July [5th July], he captured his
baggage -wagons, which were laden with many treasures and the
furniture of his chapel. A few days afterwards he obtained pos
session of his castle of Loches (almost by a miracle), which had
been burnt down, while the guards of the king of France fled from
the fire which they themselves had kindled.
Reiner, the seventh abbot of Melrose, on the fifteenth of the
kalends of October [17th Sept.], being a Saturday, humbly resigned,
under his seal, the pastoral charge of his abbey to E[rnald] of Rie-
vaux ; Ralph, abbot of Kinlos, succeeded him on the fourteenth
of the kalends of October [Tuesday, 18th Sept.], being the second
day1 of the week. Adam, abbot of Cupre, voluntarily resigned
his office, and was succeeded by Ernald, prior of Newbottle.
A.D. 1195. Gregory, bishop of Rosmaskin, died, and Reinald,
monk of Melrose, was elected as his successor upon the third of
the kalends of March [Monday, 27th Feb.], being the second day
of the week, at Dunfermelin, and was consecrated on the fourth of
the ides of September [10th Sept.]. How wonderfully did the
hand of God bring about this election ! Hugh, bishop of Durham,
1 The 18th of September fell upon a Sunday.
A.D. 1200.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 147
died on the fifth of the nones of March [Friday, 3d March], being
the sixth day of the week, in the forty-third year of his episcopate.
Reinald, the bishop-elect of Rosmark, honourably received the
rite of consecration at St. Andrew's in Scotland, upon Sunday,
the fourth of the ides of September [10th Sept.], at the hands of
John, bishop of Dunkeld. The church of St. Andrew the apostle,
of Pebles, was dedicated by Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, on
Sunday, the fourth of the kalends of November [29th Oct.].
William, king of Scots, issued a new coinage.
A.D. 1196. John de Rokesburch, treasurer of Glasgow, died at
Melrose, on the fourth of the nones of February [2d Feb.], being a
novice of that house. William de Moreville, constable of kthe
king of Scots, died.
A.D. 1197. William, king of Jerusalem, died, and also Frederick,
the emperor of Germany.
A battle was fought in Moray, near the castle of Inverness, be
tween the followers of the king, and Roderick and Thorphin the
son of king Harold : but God decreed that the king's enemies
should be defeated, and Roderick was slain, along with many
others. Blessed be God over all, who defeats the wicked ! After
this king William and his army wTent into Moray, and into the
other more remote districts of his kingdom, and there he took
prisoner earl Harold, and then caused him to be guarded in the
castle of Roxburgh, until his son Thorfin surrendered himself as a
hostage for his father.
Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, dedicated his cathedral church,
which he had built anew, upon Sunday, the day before the nones
of July [6th July], in the twenty-fourth year of his episcopate.
A new town was built between Don and Ar.
A.D. 1198. Pope Celestine died on the sixth of the ides of
January [8th Jan.], and was succeeded by Innocent. Roger, the
son of the earl of Leicester, was consecrated bishop of St. Andrew's,
on the first Sunday in Lent [15th Feb.]. Erchinbald, abbot of Dun-
fermelin died, and was succeeded by Robert of Berwick. Alexander,
the son of William, king of the Scots, was born on the day of
St. Bartholomew the apostle [24th Aug.], and at his birth many
rejoiced.
A.D. 1199. Joceline, bishop of Glasgow, died at Melrose, upon
the sixteenth of the kalends of April [17th March]. Richard, king
of England, died l on the day before the ides of April [12th April].
Ernald, abbot of Rievaux, resigned his pastoral care, and was suc
ceeded by William de Punchard. John, king of England, was
crowned on Ascension day [27th May]. Hugh, the chancellor,
died on the sixth of the ides of July [10th July]. Matthew,
bishop of Aberdeen, died on the thirteenth of the kalends of Sep
tember [20th Aug.]. William Malvesine was made chancellor on
the sixth of the ides of September [8th Sept.].
A.D. 1200. William, master of the converts of Melrose, was
made abbot of Cupre on the eighteenth of the kalends of Fe
bruary [15th Jan.]. William Malvesine was consecrated.
1 This date is incorrect, for Richard died upon Tuesday, 6th April
L 2
148 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1201—
A.D. 1201. Hugh, abbot of Newbottle, humbly resigned his
office, and was succeeded by Adam, the master of the converts of
the same establishment. The nobility of the land swore fealty to
Alexander, the king's son, on the fourth of the ides of October
[12th Oct.], at Muchselburg. John de Salerno, presbyter- cardinal,
held his council at Perth, and there enacted the observance of
many constitutions.
A.D. 1202. Roger, bishop of St. Andrew's, died, and was suc
ceeded by William Malvecine, bishop of Glasgow. John de
Salerno, the legate of the apostolic see, having gone into Ireland,
made Ralph, abbot of Melrose, bishop at Down, and he was suc
ceeded in the government of Melrose by William, abbot of Cupre.
Ralph, bishop of Brechin, was consecrated. William Malvecine
was translated from Glasgow to St. Andrew's. The legate of the
apostolic see, whom we have already mentioned, was honourably
received at Melrose ; and there he remained for more than fifty
nights, chiefly for the purpose of putting an end to the dispute
which existed between the monks of Kelso and those of Melrose.
He gave ample promises to both parties, but satisfaction to neither;
and after having received from each very numerous gifts in gold
and silver, and a large number of horses, he departed thence,
having done no good to either of the disputants, but left the suit l
in much the same state as he found it.
A.D. 1203. John, bishop of Dunkeld, of happy memory, died,
and was succeeded by Robert de Prebenda, the king's clerk and
kinsman. Richard, bishop of Moray, died, and was succeeded by
Brice, prior of Lesmahagu. Ernisius, abbot of Rufford, died.
Osbert, abbot of Kelso, died, and was succeeded by Geoffrey, prior of
the same place. William, abbot of Rievaux, died. William of Blois
was made bishop of Lincoln. King John returned into England,
after having disgracefully lost his lands and castles on the continent.
A.D. 1204. Geoffrey undertook the rule of Rievaux. Alan
Fitz Walter died. Queen Elianor died. Danecastre [Doncaster]
was entirely destroyed by fire on Easter eve [24th April]. Earl
Duncan2 died. Geoffrey de Luci, bishop of Winchester, died. In
the land of promise seven bishops renounced the Christian faith.
Baldwin, earl of Flanders, became emperor at Constantinople. By
the treacherous behaviour of his own people, John de Curci was
taken prisoner by Hugh de Lasci. Peter, abbot of Weburn, died
at Vacellse [Vaucluse]. Alexander, abbot of Sautrey, died.
A.D. 1205. Earl David performed his homage to his nephew
Alexander, the son of king William. Two moons appeared in the
sky at the same time; both of them were of the same size. Their
horns touched each other at one extremity, but they were widely
apart on the other; at last, however, they coalesced. A frost,
severe and terrible, and of long continuance, everywhere destroyed
the sheep and oxen and horses which were in the woods. The
1 It is probable that the point at issue was the boundary between the pos
sessions of these contiguous establishments. See Monast. Annals, p. 218.
2 Probably Duncan, earl of Fife, who, according to Douglas (Baron, i. 574)
died in 1203.
A.D. 1208.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 149
walls of Rouen were levelled with the ground, by the men of the
king of France. Hugh, archbishop of Canterbury, died on the
third of the ides of July [7th Aug.].1 Ralph, abbot of Jedde-
worth, died on the seventh of the ides of August [7th Aug.]
A.D. 1206. Richard de Cave was made abbot of Kelso, on the
fourth of the kalends of April [29th March]. On the ides of
April [llth April], the moon being nineteen days old, thunder was
heard. On the 7th of the kalends of May [25th April], such a
great quantity of snow fell, as would scarce be credited by those
persons 'who had not seen it. On the sixth of the ides of May
[10th May], William of Blois, bishop of Lincoln, died. Earl
Arald2 died. William, the ninth abbot of Melrose, died on the
sixth of the ides of June [8th June]. Patric, sub-prior of Melrose,
was made the abbot of the same place.
A.D. 1207. John, bishop of Aberdeen, died, after whom Adam,
the king's clerk (who was surnamed of Calder3), was elected.
Patric, the tenth abbot of Melrose, of good remembrance, died,
and was succeeded by Adam, the prior of the same place. Florence
the [bishop] elect of Glasgow, resigned his charge by the pope's
permission. William, bishop of St. Andrew's, spent some time
abroad. Ralph de Sules was killed in his own house by his own
domestics. The greater part of Roxburgh was accidentally de
stroyed by fire. Walter, the king's chaplain, was elected bishop of
Glasgow, on the fifth of the ides of December [9th Dec.]. An
angel appeared to a certain holy hermit and repeated these words
to him, " Roman shall rise against Roman, and at Rome Roman
shall supersede Roman. The new flock shall always be upon the
increase. The shepherds' staves shall be lightened, and their
leader shall be a consolation. Rain shall begin to fall from a heavy
cloud, for one is born who shall change the course of the world."
Udard, abbot of Coupre, died ; his successor was Richard.
A.D. 1208. England was placed under interdict in the month of
March, fifteen days before Easter [23d March]. The cause was
this. Upon the death of Walter Hubert, archbishop of Canter
bury, a dispute arose between the king and the monks concerning
the election of a successor, the king making choice of one, the
monks of another. Several of the monks being arrived at Rome,
advocating the causes of the several candidates, the pope, after he
had heard the pleadings on each side, quashed the election of all of
them, and enjoined that they should proceed anew with an election,
according to the canons, and that this should be done in his pre
sence. Hereupon they chose Master Stephen de Langton, and
the pope wrote to the king of England respecting him, in terms of
recommendation, and requesting that he might be accepted. Here
upon the king was grievously offended ; not only because his
own nomination had been set aside, but also because his messengers,
the monks, had acted contrary to their promise ; and so he swore
1 Gervase, col. 1683, agrees with this date.
2 Perhaps Harold, earl of Caithness. See Fordun, i. 512 and 516.
3 Fordun, i. 521, calls him " de Carail," thereby meaning that he was a native
of Grail, in Fife.
150 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1208—
that he would never accept this same Stephen. The pope bore
with this for a considerable time, and wrote to the king, and ad
monished him, but his admonitions went for nothing ; and then
(as has been said), he placed the land under an interdict, so that
no [mass] could be chanted, either in public or in private, and it
was so arranged that neither might the dying have communion,
nor the dead burial.
Philip, bishop of Durham, died. Apprehensive of the king's
tyranny, almost all the clergy deserted Oxford ; but a few of them,
who had remained for a short time afterwards, at length departed,
in consequence of divine service being suspended throughout the
whole town by the interdict ; and some went to Reading, and part
of them to Paris. Richard, abbot of Kelso, died, and was succeeded
by Henry, the prior of the said house, on the fifteenth of the kalends
of July [Wednesday, 17th June]. On the ides of September [10th
Sept.], being the fourth day of the week, the new burial-ground at
Driburgh was dedicated by William, bishop of St. Andrew's. Gil
bert, formerly abbot of Alnwick, died, and was succeeded in the
following year by Godfrey, abbot of Driburgh ; and in his room
William, prior of Driburgh, was elected abbot of the same house.
Walter, the [bishop] elect of Glasgow, was consecrated in his
see at Glasgow, on the day of the commemoration of All Souls
[2d Nov.], he having obtained the pope's sanction. Adam, abbot
of Alnwick, was deposed on the fifth of the ides of December.
A.D. 1209. John, king of England, commanded William, king
of Scotland, to meet him at Newcastle ; they met at Boyeltun.
So William, king of the Scotts, and the king of England, came to
Norham on the ninth of the kalends of May [Thursday, 23d
April], on the fifth day of the week, and upon both occasions, as
well in going as returning, he took up his abode at Alnwick, at his
own costs ; and both kings had a conference at the castle aforesaid,
but the interview was broken off on the sixth of the kalends of
May [26th April], no good having resulted from it.
Ralph, the priest of Dunbar, accepted the cure of Heccles.
John, bishop of Whithern, died, and was succeeded by Walter,
the chamberlain of Alan Fitz Roland. Ralph, the archdeacon of
St. Andrew's, died, and was succeeded by master Lawrence, the
official. Alan1 Fitz Roland married the daughter of earl David,
the brother of the king of Scotland.
Our lord the pope gave permission that once in the week divine
service might be celebrated in the abbeys throughout England, but
in a low voice, with closed doors, and after the seculars had been
excluded.
About the feast of St. James [25th July], the kings of England
and Scotland, with their respective armies, had a meeting, and then
peace was concluded between them, — upon these terms, however,
that the king of Scotland should give the king of England his two
daughters to be assigned in marriage, along with thirteen thousand
pounds, and should be permitted to overthrow the castle which had
been erected opposite to Berwick ; and this was done. And for the
1 This was Alan, the son of Roland, fourth lord of Galloway.
A. D. 1210.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 151
observance of the peace he gave him as hostages the sons of the
nobility of the land ; but this was done contrary to the wishes of
the Scots.
About the feast of St. Martin [llth Nov.], the bishops of Salis
bury and Rochester came into Scotland, of whom one, he, namely,
of Salisbury, took up his residence at Kelso, the other at Rox
burgh ; but each paid his own expenses. To mark his respect for
those venerable persons, the king of Scotland gave them eighty
chalders of wheat, sixty- six of barley, and eighty of oats.
Richard,1 abbot of Cupre, resigned, and was succeeded by
Alexander.
A.D. 1210. Richard, bishop of Dunkeld, died in the month of
May ; and Thomas de Colville2 was taken prisoner, and placed in
confinement at Edinburgh, on account of the rebellion which he
had been plotting against his king and lord, as report had generally
stated. At the feast of St. Martin [llth Nov.], he redeemed
himself.
Having collected an army, king John subdued Ireland in the
month of June ; on his return from Ireland he plundered the
Cistercian monks in many places. As for the Jews, he pillaged
them of nearly everything they possessed, and drove them out of
their houses ; the eyes of some he plucked out, some he starved
to death, and all of them he reduced to such an extremity of
want, that they, though Jews, went from door to door, asking
food from the Christians, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thus they
were starved like the dogs, and went about the city ; so that in
them was fulfilled, in the literal sense, that which had been pro
phesied of them as follows : " They go to and fro in the evening ;
they grin like a dog, and run about through the city." [Ps. lix. 6.]
As soon as the king of France became aware of this, he cunningly
issued a proclamation that all the Jews should at one and the same
time be committed to prison throughout all the provinces of
France ; for he was well aware of the fact, that however far apart
the Jews might be situated from each other, however scattered
through the different quarters of the globe, yet they were bound
together by one common bond of infidelity, and supported each
other to the best of their ability in every necessity. When this
had been done, he so thoroughly pillaged them in every way, that
they could not provide even for themselves ; moreover, he restored
to his knights, without interest, those lands and title-deeds which
they had pledged to the Jews, and so " the rich he sent empty away."
In the same year a great council was held at Paris, where had
been summoned the archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of
the whole Gallican church, and all the magistracy of the city. It
was directed chiefly against those superstitious heretics who had
crept into widows' houses, and by their perverted interpretation of
Holy Scripture, had secretly seduced a very great multitude of the
simple ones. It is wiser, however, to conceal their lamentable
errors, than to publish them by description. In this same council
some of them were convicted of heretical pravity, and of being
1 This entry is by a later hand. 2 See Douglas's Peerage, i. 350.
152 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1210—
followers of the wicked sect of their master Amauri ; whose bones
(after having been first excommunicated by all the archbishops and
bishops, in the sight and hearing of all the people,) were com
manded to be cast out of the consecrated burial-ground, in order
that the others might take a warning. As for the heretics them
selves, after having been degraded in the presence of all the people,
in the fields near the chapel of St. Honorat, fifteen days before
Christmas [llth Dec.], and then handed over to the lay power,
they were burnt with fire by the king's orders, three days afterwards.
So obdurate were they in their obstinacy, that even in the flames
they uttered not the faintest sound. The lay people called them
Papelards.1 Master Robert de Cursun,2 a man of venerable life,
and illustrious in every branch of learning, (to whom our lord the
pope had entrusted the chief office of preaching in France,) heartily
persecuted these false prophets from the outset, and called them
Almaricans, from the forenamed Almaric, or Godini, from one
Godinus, a leader of that heresy of theirs, who suffered death by
the infliction of the same punishment. Many of those who had
fallen into this same error, but had repented, were consigned to
imprisonment for life, having been previously degraded from holy
orders. Thus it happened that in this year there was a great
persecution, as well of Jews as of heretics.
Louis, the son of Philip, king of France, was knighted by his
father with the greatest pomp and rejoicings, at St. Lice, on the day
of St. John the Baptist [24th June].
A.D. 1211. On the day of St. Mary Magdalene [22d July],
John, archdeacon of Lothian, was elected bishop of Dunkeld.
William, dean of Cunningham, died. William de Bois was made
the chancellor of our lord the king of Scotland, on the vigil of
SS. Peter and Paul [28th June]. The king of England fortified
castles in Wales, and so subdued it. Warin, abbot of Rievaux,
died, and was succeeded by Elias, the cellarer of the same house.
Three abbots, those, namely, of Fountains, of Furnes, and of
Caldre, received the benediction from our lord R. bishop of
Down, at Melrose, upon the day of St. Lucy [13th Dec.] ; and
moreover, two abbots besides received the gift of the benediction
from him this same year.
During this year an innumerable destruction of men took place
in every region. It commenced in the East, and did not cease
until it reached the West. There was a man named Otho, illustrious
amongst all his compeers for nobility of family; he was eminent
and conspicuous in every battle, a champion who distinguished
himself in every army. Him our lord the pope promoted to be
emperor, anointed him, and crowned him. After he had subdued
very many of the eastern provinces, and had been the cause of
countless deaths, but not yet satisfied with human gore, he at last
laid his bloody hands upon his own mother ; and having abridged
by violence the dignities of the apostolic see, he endeavoured
1 See the Glossaries of Du Cange and Roquefort.
A good account of this individual may be Been in Oudin ii. 1715. See also
Tanner, Bibl p. 213.
A.D. 1212.1 CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 153
thereby to augment his own possessions. O how insatiable is the
greed of ambition, which always howls for more in proportion as
its unsatisfied hunger has been gorged ! O how accursed a thing
is that craving after the dignities of this world, which always dis
regards the limits of right and wrong, and always promises its
followers that it has in store for them some position yet more
elevated, and after having compelled them to stretch out their
sacrilegious hands even against God, then, at last, secretly plunges
them into the filthy abyss of every vice. These remarks apply with
equal truth to all those persons who presume to lay violent hands
upon any of the possessions of holy mother church. Need we say
more ? The apostolic sentence was pronounced and promulgated
against him, and upon its promulgation a new emperor was
appointed by the papal edict. But what was the end of this very
disgraceful strife, or with what result it was ultimately attended, the
following narrative will declare more fully.
In this same year the following incident occurred. The Albi-
genses, a race of people cruel and rejected by God, who cast off
the righteousness of God, and wished to substitute their own,
assailed the religion of the catholic faith with open warfare.
Whereupon, by the incitement of the apostolic see, and by the
preaching of God's word, but chiefly by the inspiration of divine
grace, no small body of the faithful with one assent met together
in the parts of Tolouse, to oppose these mockers of God's law ;
and having been arranged in troops, they engaged the infidels in a
pitched battle, in which they slew an unprecedented number of
them. This occurred in the month of September, on the fourth day
after the feast of St. Mary,1 in the year one thousand two hundred
and eleven, under that most Christian leader and most victorious
earl Simon, surnamed de Munforde, or de Rocheford, who from
the outset had persecuted that people with the strictest severity.
Scarce had this disturbance been brought to an end, and put
down, when lo ! a new persecution of the Christians sprang up in
another quarter. A bold and yet ignominious body of pagans
landed from a considerable fleet upon the shores of Spain, and
challenged the Christians to battle. The bold-hearted king (whose
surname, however, styled him " the Little,") attacked them with
his troops, and, aided by God's power, crushed nearly the whole of
them ; for their king or chieftain (called de Mairhoc) had difficulty
in escaping with his life, covered with disgrace.
The king of France shed no small quantity of human blood in
reducing to his own power the land belonging to the king of Eng
land which was situated on the continent. The like slaughter was
perpetrated by the king of England in conquering the land of
Ireland and Wales. Then the king of Scotland, while he was
following up Guthred, the son of Macwilliam, and destroying those
persons who had led him astray, left his path strewn with many
dead bodies.
A.D. 1212. A general decree went out from pope Innocent
1 That is, after the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary, which is held
upon the 8th Sept.
154 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1212— .
throughout all the Christian world, that, putting aside any excuse,
all the pastors of the churches should assemble at Rome upon a fixed
day, that is to say, upon the kalends of November [1st Nov.], one
thousand two hundred and fifteen, for the purpose of there cele
brating a general council. Exception, however, was made in favour of
a few who by common consent should remain in each country for
the cure of souls. In the meantime the bishops should with all care
fulness preach the Word of life, strengthen those who were weak in
the faith, and further should sign them with the sign of the sacred
cross, in aid of the holy land of promise, which at that time was
being treated infamously and disgracefully by the Saracens.
Many were the great lights which were sent a later e from the
pope. Doctors of most holy conversation, and of learning the
most refined, came into every region of the world. Of these, two
were sent hither ; one into England and the other into France ; the
former of these was master Stephen de Langton, consecrated arch
bishop of Canterbury ; he who was despatched into France was
master Robert de Curzun, presbyter and cardinal of the apostolic
see, who was appointed legate and arbitrator for the whole of that
kingdom. By the example of their holy conversation, and by the
ministry of their catholic preaching, it was intended that they
should illuminate both realms. By the advice of the aforesaid
master Robert, the king of France expelled from all his cities all
public usurers and common prostitutes, and all others who held
oar holy religion in contempt.
Alexander, son of William the king of the Scots, went to
London, and received the order of knighthood from the king of
England, upon the eighth of the ides of March [8th March], at
the " Laetare Jerusalem," * being then in the nineteenth year of
his age. Having thus been honourably knighted, he returned home
with the approbation and congratulations of both realms.
At this time there came forth in England a man of surprising
boldness and abstinence, Peter by name, who declaring future
events (I do not know by what spirit he was inspired), was in the
habit of rebuking the king of England from day to day, for his
cruelty towards the church ; and told him loudly, and to his face,
that before long he would lose the honour of the kingdom, and
even the name of a king. This, in fact, came to pass for the
greater part ere long, as the succession of our history will make
manifest.
A.D. 1213. Reinald, bishop of Ross, formerly a monk of Mel-
rose, died on the day of St. Lucy [13th Dec.]. After his death
master Andrew de Moray was elected ; but he refusing to be made
a bishop, humbly resigned the honour of so great a dignity, having
first obtained the pope's permission to do so. In his stead
Robert, the chaplain of William, king of Scots, was appointed.
Adam, abbot of Melrose, was elected to the cure of the
bishopric of Caithness, on the nones of August [5th Aug.].
Ernald, abbot of Citeaux, was elected, and consecrated archbishop
1 This is the name of the fourth Sunday in Lent, which occurred on the 4th
March.
A.D. 1214.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 155
of Narbonne.1 By diligently preaching the Word of life, by con
firming the faith of Christ, and by persecution, he succeeded in
destroying the sect of the Albigenses. His successor was Ernald,2
abbot " de Fonte Johannis." Wido,3 abbot of Clairvaux, ex
hausted by the long-continued strictness of the order, which
pressed heavily upon his old age, resigned to God and the order
the seal and superiority of the establishment, which he could no
longer sustain. A few days after this he departed from this world,
in the ripeness of a venerable old age, and was succeeded by
Conrad,4 abbot of Villiacum, of Brabant.
Adam, abbot of Newbottle, in the beauty of humility, resigned
his office ; he was succeeded by Alan, sub-prior of Melrose.
William de Montibus, the chancellor of the church of Lincoln,
died after Easter,5 a man of pious memory. In the next year,
when Christian rites were restored to England, his body was trans
lated into the church of Lincoln, and there buried with the honour
which was its due.
A.D. 1214. The forenamed Adam, abbot of Melrose, was con
secrated bishop of Caithness, by William Malvecine, bishop of St.
Andrew's, on the day of St. Mamertus the bishop, in the month
of May [llth May]; and on the ides of May [15th May] he was
succeeded by Hugh de Clippestun, a monk of the same house.
William, king of Scotland, of holy memory, going the way of all
flesh, departed to the Lord by a happy death, in the forty-ninth
year of his reign, in the seventy-second year of his age, on the
second of the nones of December [4th Dec.], leaving his kingdom
in a state of profound peace. His son Alexander, (being now in
the seventeenth year of his age,) attended by a vast concourse of
the nobility, proceeded to Scone, and there, according to the royal
custom, and with the usual solemnities, he assumed the government
of the realm of Scotland upon the eighth of the ides of December
[6th Dec.], in equal honour and peace.
William, the cellarer of Melrose, was elected abbot of Glenluce.
The church of St. Mary of Hawic was dedicated by Adam, bishop
of Caithness, upon the fourth of the kalends of June [29th
May].
The abbot of Citeaux arrived in England for the purposes of his
visitation. John, bishop of Dunkeld, of pious memory, died
upon the nones of October [7th Oct.], after whom Hugh, the clerk
De Sigillo, was elected. Alan, abbot of Newbottle, returned to
his own house with humble devotion, and resigned the cure of its
administration upon the eighth of the kalends of June [25th
May], in the chapter ; Richard, the cellarer of the same house,
succeeded him.
Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, came into England between
Easter and Whitsunday [30th March — 18th May], while all re
joiced and said, " Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
1 See Gallia Christ, vi. 61, where are abundant proofs of his activity against
the Albigenses.
2 Id. iv. 989. 3 Id. p. 803. 4 Id. p. 804.
5 In 1213 Easter occurred on 14th Api'il.
156 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1214—
Lord/' [Matt. xxi. 9.] The interdict ceased throughout Eng
land about the kalends of July [1st July].
One of the pope's clerks, named Pandulf, was sent into England
to soften the king's heart, and persuade him to make condign satis
faction ; he returned to Rome, having made some progress towards
a reconciliation, though it had not been fully completed. On his
return another personage of considerable repute was despatched ;
his name was Nicolas, a Cistercian monk, the chief penitentiary of
the apostolic see. The object of his mission was this ; that by his
legatine authority he should confirm the peace of which the terms
had already been agreed upon, and after having received from the
king the satisfaction which was due, he should absolve him from
the bond of the anathema. But while this was in progress, Philip,
kin"1 of France, (acting, doubtlessly, by divine influence,) boldly rose
against the king of England, and marched with a large army to the
coast opposite his realms. Moreover, that simple prophet, P[eter],
whom we have already mentioned, redoubled his rebukes in the
very face of the king, and constantly announced that he would be
deprived of his royal dignity ; and he remarked to him that the
son of a certain good woman would reign after him ; meaning
thereby, (as we understand it,) that he would be succeeded by
Philip, the son of holy mother Church. Terrified, therefore, by
these manifold alarms, when the cardinal arrived he did his homage
to God and the holy mother church of Rome, and to the pope ; and
with surprising meekness he resigned into the hands of the legate
the perpetual subjection of his realm ; and as a testimony of this
his subjection and homage, not only he, but also the nobility of his
land, promised, by oath upon the holy shrines, that he and all his
heirs would pay a yearly tribute of one thousand marks (that is to
say, seven hundred for England, and three hundred for Ireland,) out
of their own resources, to God and the pope, and all his successors.
The oath contained this addition ; that he would make full restitution
of everything which he had extorted from the churches, and from
ecclesiastical persons, from the period when his land had first been
laid under interdict ; and that henceforth he would hold his land
from the lord pope as from a supreme king. All these things the
king very readily promised to do, and he placed the crown of his
realm under the feet of the legate. Blessed be God, the strong
and the powerful over all, who knoweth, according to his good
pleasure, how to bow under Himself the necks of the proud, and how
to call to repentance the hearts of the stubborn ones. Yet not
even now understanding that he had forfeited the kingly name, and
lost his former honour, he commanded that this P[eter] (whom we
have more than once mentioned) should be put to a cruel death,
an act which he afterwards most bitterly repented, as we shall have
occasion to show presently.
A battle was fought in Flanders, between Tournay and the bridge
of Bovines, between Philip, king of France, and Otho, who had
formerly been emperor of Germany, upon the Sunday next after
the feast of St. James [27th July], which this year fell upon the
sixth of the kalends of August. It appears from the written
.4. D. 1215.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 157
account sent by H.,1 abbot of Ursicampum, to A[rnald], abbot
of Citeaux,2 that in this fight there were captured, on the side of
Otho, the earl of Flanders, the earl of Boulogne, the earl of
Salisbury, the earl of Tenekebrok, and the earl " Pilosus." Many
barons of Flanders and Germany, and their sons, as well as many
of the more illustrious and braver of the knights who took part in
the battle, were also made prisoners, whom this abbot enumerated
by name to the extent of nearly seven score. On Otho's side were
thirty thousand horsemen, and two hundred thousand foot soldiers;
the account of the knights who were captured was one hundred and
twenty ; seventy were killed. Of the foot soldiers, three thousand
times three thousand were slain. On the side of the French only
three knights fell. It is true that the king of France was thrown
off his horse, and fell into the midst of the fiercest of his enemies,
who thirsted for nothing more than his blood ; but by God's
mercy, by the intercession with God of the Cistercian order (as
he afterwards admitted), and by the courage of his own soldiers
— some of whom allowed themselves to be killed over his body —
he remounted his horse and escaped in safety. We cannot pass
unnoticed, that the earl of Boulogne (whose rebellion was the
cause of the whole war), when he threw himself on the ground
before the king of France and entreated his forgiveness, observed
that he had done no wrong to that sovereign ; whereupon the
king indignantly reminded him of all the benefits which he had
conferred upon him, and how ungratefully he had always repaid
his kindness, and at last broke out in these words, " Be silent ;
for by the bones of St. James I will cause your eyes to be plucked
out : and be assured of this, that as long as I am alive you shall
never come forth from your prison." Moreover, he bound the
keepers with an oath that they would not release the earl from
prison, save only into his own hands, and that they would pay no
attention either to his message or his letters. And lastly, he
caused two strong and massive chains to be fixed in the trunk of
a tree, bound to which, the earl became the warden of Peronne,
much against his own inclination.
A.D. 1215. Conrad, abbot of Clairvaux, arrived in England for
the purpose of visiting the houses of that order ; and this he did
with considerable rigour ; and in the daughter establishments he
enjoined that many severe and strict rules should be observed,
according to the institution of the order.
Helyas, abbot of Rievalx, resigned his office, and was succeeded
by Henry, abbot of Wardon, on the sixth of the ides of April
[8th April]. Roger, master of the converts of Wardon, was
elected abbot of the same house on the third of the kalends of
May [29th April]. An inroad was made into Moray by the
enemies of our lord the king of Scotland ; that is, by Donald
Ban, the son of Macwilliam, and Kennauh mac Aht, and the
son of a certain king of Ireland, at the head of a large troop of
1 If the list of the abbots of Ourcamp given in the Gallia Christ, ix. 1131, be
complete, this initial letter must be incorrect. According to that authority, John
presided from 1212 until 1222. 2 j^ jv> g91i
158 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. U-D. 1215.
wicked ones. Machentagar attacked these enemies of the king,
and crushed them effectually ; he cut off their heads, and presented
this new kind of offering to the new king on the seventeenth of
the kalends of July [15th June]; whereupon our lord the king
made him a new knight.
A1 new state of things begun in England ; such a strange affair
as had never before been heard ; for the body wished to rule the
head, and the people desired to be masters over the king. The
king, it is true, had perverted the excellent institutions of the
realm, and had mismanaged its laws and customs, and misgoverned
his subjects. His inclination became his law ; he oppressed his
own subjects ; he placed over them foreign mercenary soldiers, and
he put to death the lawful heirs, of whom he had obtained pos
session as his hostages, while an alien seized their lands. The
knights were summoned to discuss the matter with the king, but
they consulted their own safety and came armed. With one
consent they swore that they would no longer endure the tyranny
of this ungrateful king. When they assembled on the first day
they were willing to submit to the law ; but the king delayed to
meet them, and would not stand to the right. He fixed a second
day at a future time, but neither did he keep that appointment ;
they, however, assembled with the intention of compelling him to
do so. They now demand that he shall be deposed unless he
make a thorough reform in the laws, and give good security that
he keep the peace inviolate. They tendered back to him the
homage which they had previously made ; and the barons took up
the cause of the knights. They then arranged themselves in seven
troops, and took possession of the lands, cities, farms, and castles.
They who sided with the king ravaged the lands of these persons ;
and thus innumerable evils occurred on both sides ; and the longer
this state of hostility continued, the more men were slain, the
greater was the loss which was incurred. At last a form of peace was
concluded on both sides ; for although they earnestly desired that
the older laws of the realm should be restored to them, they were
unwilling to lay violent hands upon the king ; and they demanded
that the king should give his entire assent to this. But he refused
to do so at first, and left them ; but at length he was compelled to
make every concession ; and, in order to secure his own safety
from the troops, he promised that he would observe whatever they
required of him. Thus the entire treaty was reduced to writing
by both parties, and they requested that the king would affix his
seal to it. He quietly promised that he would do so ; yet, after
considerable delays, he expressed his wish that they should meet
him at Oxford. Having assembled his troops, the king kept his
appointment, but there he gainsaid the articles of peace. Here
upon the barons departed in great indignation, and so the last
mistake was worse than the former.
The king hereupon adopted a new mode of doing mischief;
instigated by some Achitophel (by whom it is not known), he
1 These two paragraphs are the translation of a poetical rhapsody ; hence the
obscurity of their diction.
A. D. 1215.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 159
resolved that he would entirely eradicate from England all those of
English descent, and that he* would give the country to be per-
petually held by foreign nations. But He who is the King of
kings and Lord of lords, and whose decree can never be set aside,
had decreed otherwise ; for He in his mercy freed the innocent
ones, and wonderfully brought to nought the counsel of Achitophel.
For while one of the king's party, who was in the parts beyond the
sea, whose name was Hugh de Boves, had assembled a very large
fleet of ships, and had filled them to overflowing with a countless
number of evil-disposed persons, it happened that when, upon the
sixth of the kalends of October [26th Sept.], this same Hugh, with
all that multitude of ships, had sailed for England, at the command
of the great King the waves of the sea arose ; and not only did the
leader of this piece of wickedness sink like lead to the bottom of
the raging billows, but all those wicked ones by whom he was
accompanied were suddenly drowned, so that out of the entire
number of the ships scarce one reached the shore for which they
were bound. The greedy sea- waves swallowed up as well the sailors
and the passengers as the ships themselves ; and only a very few
were saved ; who, after a long-continued exposure to the violence
of the tempestuous winds, with great difficulty escaped the great
danger of their critical position. And it is believed that they
would not even then have been delivered, had not they repented
them of the crime which they had planned, and with sincere com
punction of heart had sought forgiveness of Him who rules over
the powers of the deep, and whom the sea and the winds obey.
For with tears and weeping they made a vow that they would
undertake the holy journey to Jerusalem,, and they mutually received
upon their own bodies the sign of the holy cross. Blessed be
God over all ! who did not refrain from inflicting merited punish
ment upon the misbelievers and the obstinate, and yet who calmed
down the power of the mighty deep for those who repented them
selves and entreated for pardon.
A general council was celebrated at Rome for fifteeen days from the
kalends of November [1st Nov.]. By the inspiration of this council
many constitutions were decreed for the rooting out of vices, and
for the destruction of heretics, for the confirmation of the faithful,
and for the improvement of manners. Among other matters it
was decided, and (with the approval of the council) strictly enjoined
by the apostolic authority, that all persons who enjoyed ecclesiastical
benefices, as well subjects as prelates, for the next three years
should contribute the full twentieth part of all their ecclesiastical
revenues for the assistance of the Holy Land, to be collected by
those persons whom the pope, in his wisdom, should appoint for
this purpose. Exception, however, was made in favour of some
religious bodies, and of those individuals who intended personally
to go to the Holy Land. And that they might not appear to be
laying an intolerable burden upon the shoulders of others, the lord
pope himself, and all the cardinals, paid a tithe of all their
revenues. Besides this, the lord pope awarded thirty thousand
pounds to the crusaders, and on another occasion three thousand
160 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D, 1215.
marks. It was ruled that in the second year afterwards, that is to
say, in the year one thousand two hundred and seventeen from our
Lord's incarnation, all they who were marked with the cross should
assemble from all parts of the globe upon the kalends of June
[1st June], and meet in the realm of Sicily. It is to be remarked,
that in this same council (in which pope Innocent the third pre
sided, in the eighteenth year of his pontificate, and which is called
that of Constantine,) there were present four hundred and twelve
bishops, among whom were two of the chief patriarchs, those,
namely,' of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The patriarch of
Antioch was unable to attend, being at that time confined at home
by a severe illness ; but in his stead he sent his representative, the
bishop of Antidore. The patriarch of Alexandria did his best, for
as he himself was under the power of the Saracens, he sent his
brother, who was a deacon. There were seventy-one primates
and metropolitans, and more than eight hundred abbots and priors.
No exact enumeration was made of the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, priors, and chapters who were absent. There were present,
legates from the king of Sicily, at that time the emperor- elect of
the Romans, from the emperor of Constantinople, the king of
France, the king of England, the king of Hungary, the king of
Jerusalem, the king of Cyprus, and the king of Aragon. So enor
mous was the multitude of other princes, nobles, representatives of
cities, and others, that one bishop died, being stifled in the crowd.
When this fact reached the ears of our lord the pope, he swore by
St. Peter that this man should have a tomb of marble.
On the sixteenth of the kalends of November [17th Oct.], one
of the best granges of Cupre was burnt down by occasion of a
candle which had been badly and carelessly placed. It was full of
corn, and in it was a convert, the keeper of the grange.
On the fourteenth of the kalends of November [19th Oct.],
Alexander, by the grace of God king of the Scots, and his entire
army, began to lay siege to the castle of Norham. After having
continued the siege for forty days, and finding that he made no
progress, he withdrew. On the eleventh of the kalends of November
[22d Oct.], our lord Alexander, the king of the Scots, received the
homage of the barons of Northumberland at Felton. On the
nones of November [5th Nov.], died Philip de Valoniis, the
chamberlain of our lord William, king of Scots, who was conveyed
to Melrose, and honourably interred there in the chapter-house of
the monks. In this same year, in the general chapter at Citeaux,
Hugh, abbot of Melrose, resigned his office, and was succeeded by
William, abbot of Holmcultram, on the sixteenth of the kalends
of December [16th Nov.],
Upon occasion of the general council, William Malvecine, bishop
of St. Andrew's, Walter, bishop of Glasgow, Brice, bishop of Moray,
and Henry, abbot of Kelso, set out from Scotland for the court
of Rome. Two of these persons, that is to say, the bishop of
Moray and the abbot of Kelso, returned to Scotland upon the ter
mination of the council ; the bishop of Glasgow returned the third
year afterwards; the bishop of St. Andrew's at the commencement
A.D. 1216.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 161
of the fourth year. The other prelates did not personally attend
at Rome, but sent their legates.
A.D. 1216. In the month of January, there occurred an unpre
cedented destruction of vills and towns in Northumberland, and in
the southern parts of Scotland. For king John having heard that
Alexander, the king of Scots, had laid claim to Northumberland,
and had received the homage of the barons of that district, took
with him his mercenary soldiers and marched towards Scotland
with great energy. As soon as his advance was known to the
barons of Yorkshire, who had taken an oath against him, they were
so terrified that they fled for protection to the king of Scotland;
and when they reached his presence they did homage to him, and
one and all of them swore fealty to him, and gave him security
upon the reliques of the saints, upon the third of the ides of
January [1 1th Jan.], in the chapter-house of the monks of Melrose.
The king of England followed up upon their track, and in his revenge
devastated their vills and towns, and estates and farms, with fire
and sword. For these barons had themselves burnt up their own vills
and corn before the king's arrival, with the intention that when he
came he might have no assistance from thence ; so that, between
the two, a large portion of the district was destroyed by fire. For
the town of Were was burnt down on the third of the ides of
January [1 1th Jan.] ; Alnwick, on the fifth of the same [9th Jan.] ;
Mitford and Morpath, on the seventh of the ides of the same
[7th Jan.]; and on the seventeenth of the kalends of February
[16th Jan.], Roxburgh, with its surrounding villages and the larger
portion of its outskirts.
On the eighteenth of the kalends of February [15th Jan.], king
John took the town and castle of Berwick, where he and his mer
cenary soldiers conducted themselves with unparalleled ferocity and
inhuman tyranny; for as many men and women as these slaves of
the devil could secure, they hung up by the joints of their
hands and feet, and subjected them to torments of all kinds, but of
the greatest intensity, for the sake of plunder. It is reported that
they took with them several Jews, to instruct them in this wicked
ness. Marching onwards, he burnt down Haddington on the third
day ; and he committed to the devouring flame Dunbar and other
towns in that same district. Upon his return, his mercenaries, these
ministers of the devil, pillaged the abbey of Coldingham, and after
wards burnt down the town of Berwick, the king himself setting
them the example. Report says, that he himself, with his own
hand, disgracefully fired the house which had sheltered him, con
trary to the habit of a king.
In this same year, in the month of February, Alexander, king of
the Scots, advanced with the whole of his powerful army upon the
track of the king of England, and ravaged with fire and sword his
land as far as Carlisle. But upon this occasion it is to be lamented
that certain Scots, devils rather than soldiers, contrary to the
wishes and expressed commands of the king, (who had given firm
peace to men of religion,) in their accursed and sacrilegious mad
ness, pillaged the house of Holmcultram of everything upon which
VOL. IV. M
162 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1216.
they could lay their hands,— holy books, vestments, chalices, horses
and cattle, utensils and garments ; so that they even stripped to the
skin a monk who was lying at his last gasp in the infirmary, taking
from him the very rags which he had about him ; nor did they
exhibit any reverence to the holy altars. This sin, however, did not
pass unpunished ; for, as they were returning with their prey, there
were drowned in the river Eden, more than one thousand nine
hundred Scotchmen in one short hour of the day, as nearly as can
be reckoned. This was the merited punishment of God.
In the same year, in the month of July, the king of Scotland
marched towards Carlisle with the whole of his army, excepting the
Scots from whom he took a money payment; and having laid
siege to this town, it surrendered to him upon the sixth of the
ides of August [8th Aug.]. At this time, however, he did not
obtain possession of the castle. Advancing onwards from that
point, he marched with the whole of his army through the very
heart of England as far as Dover, to meet Louis, the son of the
king of France; king John all this time looking on in indignation.
Louis had disembarked upon the second of the nones of May [6th
May] this year, from a large fleet which he had brought over at the
instigation and for the assistance of the barons of England. At the
very commencement of this expedition, Eustace de Vesci,1 the
king's son-in-law, was killed at the siege of Bernard Castle.
It must not be forgotten, that as soon as Louis arrived in
England, William Longsword, earl of Salisbury,2 the brother of the
king of England, and many others, deserted the king and passed
over to Louis ; but the rebellion which afterwards broke out made
it clear that they did this more in treachery than in love, more for
the sake of injury than assistance. For at this time, when Alex
ander, king of the Scots, was residing in England, he did homage to
this Louis at London3 (as is reported), in the same form as the
barons of England had done to him ; and Louis himself and all the
barons of England swore upon the holy gospels, that they would
never enter into any agreement for peace or truce with the king of
England, unless the king of the Scots were included. Subsequent
occurrences, however, will prove that this was not observed to
the full.
In this same year, upon the seventeenth of the kalends of August
[16th July], our lord pope Innocent the third of holy memory de
parted from this world, for the Lord had called him, being in the
nineteenth year of his pontificate. His successor was Honorius,
bishop and cardinal, who succeeded on the thirteenth of the kalends
of August [20th July], a man venerable as well from his learning as
his maturity of age.
In this same year died Henry, abbot of Rievaux, at Ruhford, and
1 See Dugd. Baron, i. 93. He had married Margaret, a natural daughter of
king William, concerning which lady see a curious story in Knyghton, col. 2422.
2 William, third earl of Salisbury, was a natural son of Henry the second, by
Rosamond hia concubine.
3 The original of the words " at London " is added by a hand of the fifteenth
century, instead of "as is reported," which occurs twice, by mistake, in the
manuscript.
A.D. 1216.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 163
there he was buried; he was succeeded in the rule of that establish
ment by William, abbot of Melrose, upon the second of the kalends
of September [3 1st Aug.]. In his stead Ralph, the cellarer of
Melrose, was elected to be the abbot of that house on the eighteenth
of the kalends of October [14th Sept.], and he received the bene
diction at the hands of Hugh, bishop of Dunkeld, on the third of
the kalends of October [29th Sept.], at Melrose. Richard, abbot of
Newbottle, resigned his office on the sixth of the kalends of August
[27th July], and was succeeded by Adam, the cellarer of the same
house, on the thirteenth of the kalends of September [20th Aug.].
On the seventeenth of the kalends of November [17th Oct.], in
the same year, died John, king of England, at Newark ; his bowels,
having been removed, were buried at the abbey of Crokestun, but
his body was conveyed to Worcester, and there interred in the
monastery.
At this time the pope sent into England a cardinal a latere,
whose name was Galo, that he might render assistance to king
John and his heirs, in the protection of their liberties against
Louis and all other the king's enemies, having received the papal
authority for this purpose. This he did with the greatest constancy.
For upon the death of the king (as we have mentioned) Galo took
with him Henry, archbishop of Dublin, and Peter, bishop of Win
chester, and they crowned as king the late king's son and heir,
Henry, a lad of seven years of age, at Worcester. Upon the same
day the abbot of Westminster and the prior of Canterbury appealed
to the apostolic see against the said cardinal, for the preservation of
their liberties, touching the matter of the coronation. Henry
of Westminster objected, because the ceremony had been performed
elsewhere than in Westminster ; and the prior of Canterbury pro
tested that no one ought to have officiated except the lord arch
bishop of Canterbury ; and that thus the liberties and privileges of
their respective churches had been violated. Because they thus
appealed, the cardinal excommunicated them both ; but they did
not consider themselves as excommunicated persons, nor did they
withdraw the appeals which they had made. Next Galo pronounced
the sentence of excommunication against the said Louis and all his
supporters, and declared that it proceeded from the pope himself ;
moreover he included in this same sentence our lord the king
of the Scots and all his nobility, and did not hesitate to place the
lands of all of them under interdict. And yet this sentence of
excommunication and interdict was not immediately observed in
England, nor was it denounced in Scotland until nearly the ensuing
year; for the cardinal (in virtue of the apostolic authority with
which he was invested,) entirely absolved all those who had done
homage or any fealty to the said Louis, provided they would return
to their own lawful lord, the new king.
In the same year, Conrad, abbot of Clairvaux, was translated
to be abbot of Citeaux ; and in his stead William, * abbot of the
monastery of Nargun, was elected abbot of Clairvaux.
In the western part of Scotland, which is called Galloway, there
1 See Gall. Christ, iv. 804.
M 2
164 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1216.
appeared a change in the form of the moon, marvellous beyond
belief, and such as our age had not hitherto witnessed. William,
abbot of Glenluce, a man worthy of all credit, and a monk of holy
conversation, sent an account of it in writing to the lord prior and
the holy convent of Melrose ; and afterwards, when he visited Mel-
rose, he gave a detailed narrative of what had happened, correspond
ing in every respect with his previously-written communication. I
was present among the other auditors, and made the request, and
heard and wondered at his narrative. His letter was to this effect : —
" To those venerable persons in Christ, our lord A. the
prior of Melrose, and to the convent of the same place, brother
William, the unworthy minister of the poor in Christ who are at
Glenluce, wishes eternal health in the Lord.
" As it is impossible that He who is the Truth should be
deceived, so in like manner is it all the more certain, that what His
mouth has predicted is in part fulfilled already, and that what still
remains to be accomplished shall of a surety come to pass. For
the lips of the Truth have declared that ' there shall be signs in the
sun, and in the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress
of nations, with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring/ etc.
[Luke xxi. 25.] Since, then, nothing which occurs upon the globe
happens without a cause, it is clear that the greater they are
the greater is the cause in which they originate. I have taken care
therefore, with all the brevity which I can employ, to transmit
to you, holy brethren, an account of a great wonder, or rather
of many and great wonders, which appeared of late in the parts of
Galloway. Nor should I have ventured to have communicated
this account to men so great and so venerable, were it not that
I have the most conclusive evidence of what I narrate, the evidence
of those very persons who saw these wonders with their own eyes,
and gave a truthful and detailed account, of them with their own
lips in my presence, and in the presence of many others.
" It happened, then, that a certain convert of our order, a man
sober, sedate, pure-minded, and of approved religion, was on a
journey, towards the dusk of the evening upon the day of St.
Ambrose the bishop [4th April],1 the day after Palm Sunday,
being the day before the nones of April, when the moon was
thirteen days old,- and lo! as this convert was looking at the moon,
(which was at this time full and round,) at that very time he saw,
as it were, a black and dusky rope cutting the moon into two
halves. The blackness of this rope diffused itself over that half of
the moon which was towards the north, and made it become darker
and duskier than the other part ; whereupon, in the twinkling of an
eye, that half which had lost its colour appeared to cut itself off
and separate itself from the other portion, from which it became
detached about the eighth part of a mile; and so great was the
violence with which that paler half of the moon was separated and
plucked asunder from the other, that it emitted sparks, like a
1 These dates are correct, but no eclipse of the moon occurred at this time which
can account for the appearances detailed in the text.
A. D. 1216.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 165
dragon when it is flying through the sky. Some little delay now
occurred, after which that paler part of the moon gradually and
slowly advanced nearer and nearer to the other half; at one time
drawing itself back, as if in fear, and again driven onwards, as if by
constraint. Just, however, as these two parts of the moon were
about to coalesce, a cloud intervened which shrouded both of them,
and the vision disappeared. A gust of wind, however, swept the cloud
aside, and the moon once more emerged from under it, and now it
appeared to have increased to the bulk of three moons ; imme
diately this increase in its bulk expanded itself over the whole
heavens, and then assumed the form of a beautiful castle, the walls
of which were amply provided with towers and battlements. At
this sight, so unusual and so astounding, not only the convert but
his servant also began to fear and tremble ; and this latter said to
the former, ' Master, what is the meaning of all this ? Has the day
of judgment arrived, think you?' The other answered, ' Not so,
my son ; but these things are the wonders of the Almighty God, who,
according to his pleasure, works signs, and prodigies, and miracles.'
The servant remarked, ' I have frequently been told that these
changes in the moon's shape are produced by witches and magi
cians, and women who are enchantresses.' The other replied, ' It
is not so, my son ; we ought rather to believe that these things
portend something wonderful and fearful, which is about to befal
the race of mankind/
" But now the moon had put off the shape of a castle, and
assumed that of a very large and beautiful ship ; on board of which
there appeared only one figure, a very tall man, who seemed to be
the sailor. This ship hoisted and spread abroad her sail, and
so sailed away with the greatest rapidity towards Ireland, taking the
direction of the Isle of Man. Next the moon put off the form of
a ship and resumed that of a large castle, fearful to look upon ; and
on this occasion there was displayed in the castle a royal standard,
such as is borne in the army of the king when he goes forth
to battle ; and, what is more extraordinary still, the pendants
or little streamers which hang down from the ends of the banners,
in this which now appeared seemed to move and flutter as if by a
breath of wind. Some little time afterwards the whole fabric
of the castle vanished and the moon resumed her natural form arid
pursued her wonted course. Presently, however, a little dusky
tower, provided with turrets of the smallest size, appeared upon
the moon for a very brief space of time, and then disappeared. The
moon seemed to have suffered some damage from these frequent
annoyances and violent and sudden changes ; she was troubled and
saddened and distressed, and continued pale and discoloured ; at
length, however, she recovered her former hue and became herself
again.
" It is for you, then, -holy men, to decide whether such an un
usual appearance as this is, whether such a fearful portent, such an
astounding miracle, ought to be passed over in silence. And if He,
who created not only the moon, but the whole fabric of the
universe, did not spare the exceeding beauty of the moon, which
166 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1217.
is a type of the elements of the firmament, and in herself represents
the hidden meaning of the earth and the sea, but suffered the moon
herself to be dishonoured by undergoing a transformation so great
and so fearful, as a warning to the whole human race — what shall
be the fate of those persons for whose sakes these tokens were
foreshown, if they refuse to return from the way of perdition
in which they are walking, disregarding alike the fear of God, the
dread of hell, and every other consideration?"
A.D. 1217. Richard de Marisco was consecrated bishop of
Durham. In the month of July in this same year, a battle
between France and England, such as our times have not heard
of, was fought at sea. For while Louis and a large number of his
troops were residing in London, the English blockaded all the
seaports, and guarded the sea-coasts with the greatest strictness, in
order that no supplies might arrive from France. The French,
however, arrived with a large body of troops and a considerable
fleet, and in the first engagement at sea they obtained the victory,
and got possession of the coast, as they wished: but, God so
deciding, a second battle having taken place in the middle of the
ocean, the English (who had made a great levy of ships and sailors)
were conquerors. Here they slew that arch-pirate, Eustace l the
Monk, and a countless number of others, the funeral rites of
whose bodies they entrusted to the fishes of the sea, and whose
exequies were celebrated by the monsters of the deep. The more
noble of the number they kept in close custody, in the hope of a
firmer peace and agreement. The names of the more important of
the captives are these, — Robert de Curtenei, William de Baris,
Ralph de Tornellis, William de Ichri, William de Pessei, Perun de
Johanris, Thomas de Cusei, Aelrad de Croizillis, Anselm de Ro-
moyni, Gallon de Munceni, Nevellunus de Araz, William de
Mariscis, and many others. Of the prisoners six score and five
were knights, seven score and six were esquires, thirty-three were
crossbowmen, eight hundred and thirty- three were foot soldiers.
R. abbot of Wardon, sent this calculation, and the names of the
nobility to William, abbot of Rievaux.
The abbey of Kilinros was founded by Malcolm, earl of Fife, to
which abbey the convent was sent on the seventh of the kalends
of March [23d Feb.] from Kinlos, along with Hugh, the first
abbot of Kilinros, who had formerly been prior of Kinlos. And
so that convent came to Kilinros upon the fifteenth of the kalends
of April [18th March].
The archbishop of Suris, and the abbots of Citeaux and Clair-
vaux, were sent into England to establish a peace between Louis
and the new king of England, Henry. In order to preserve the
dignity of their order, these abbots appealed to the apostolic see
against cardinal G[ualo], because that legate demanded, by way of
exaction, procurations from the Cistercian order, contrary to the
privileges which had been granted to that order by the see of
1 See a curious historical poem upon the exploits of this pirate, entitled
" Roman d'Eustache le Moine," published by F. Michel, 8vo. Paris, 1834.
A. D. 1217.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 167
Rome, Moreover, he had placed the monasteries of their monks
under interdict; he had suspended their abbots and convents, and
had declared them to be excommunicate; and furthermore he had
caused discipline to be publicly inflicted upon their bare flesh,
before the church-doors, because they had communicated with the
rebels ; and this he did, having previously extorted from each of
them an oath that they would submit to the judgment of the
church, and to whatever the pope or himself should command.
He had also enjoined the accustomed penances to abbots and con
vents, and would scarce concede to them the grace of absolution.
Therefore it was that (as I have mentioned) they appealed against
him, for he carried himself thus cruelly towards the Cistercian
order ; but upon this occasion they experienced no favour. For
our lord the pope had granted to this legate a degree of authority
hitherto unknown and unprecedented ; for he had the power, so
to speak, of doing to the clergy throughout England, Scotland,
and Wales, whatever entered his mind ; he might translate bishops
and abbots, and other prelates of churches, and clerks, and depose
them, and substitute others, and suspend and excommunicate
them, and absolve them. And, what was more important still, he
might deprive of their privileges even the monks of the Cister
cian1 order.
Walter,2 the abbot of the new monastery at Citeaux, died,
during the time of the general chapter, and in his room Henry,
prior of La Roche,3 was elected. In this general chapter two
abbots and five priors of Wales were removed from their offices,
and banished from their own houses, on account of the excesses
which they had committed against this said cardinal ; these were
the abbots of Albalanda and Strata Florida.
In the month of May, Alexander, by the grace of God the king
of the Scots, assembled his entire army, and laid siege to the
castle of Midford; and after he had continued before it for a
week, he returned home. Philip de Ullecotes and H. de Balliol
threatened that they would have their revenge upon the king of the
Scots, by ravaging his land. Hearing this, our lord the king col
lected his entire army, that is to say, of English, Scots, and Gal-
wegians, with the greatest expedition, upon the third of the nones
of July [5th July], and marched again into Northumberland.
The lady Eva4 at Galloway died on the third of the ides of
June [llth June]. Helyas, formerly abbot of Rievaux, was
elected abbot of Revesby in the month of December.
It is reported that in the month of March in this same year a
rebellion broke out in the island of Rie against the lord Louis.
For some of those persons who had sworn against the king of
1 It will not be forgotten that Melrose was a foundation of this order.
2 The succession of the priors of Citeaux, as given by the Benedictine editors
of the Gallia Christiana, iv. 991, 992, does not agree with the statement of our
chronicler.
3 No abbot of the name of Henry occurs in the list given in the Gall. Christ,
xii. 468.
4 Probably Eva, the wife of Koland, lord of Galloway, and daughter of
Richard de Morville, constable of Scotland.
168 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1217—
England, that is to say, William Longsword, the brother of king
John, and William, the younger marshal of England, and their
adherents, unexpectedly rose against Louis in this island. But,
by God's providence, which never deserts those who trust in Him,
a considerable number of ships which had been sent into England
by Philip, the king of France, the father of this Louis, at that very
time, by a strange coincidence, touched at this island, and on their
arrival he was delivered from custody, and his enemies were com
pelled to consult their own safety by flight.
Upon the kalends of June [1st June] a battle was fought at
Lincoln, between the supporters of Louis, the son of the king of
France, and those who held with Henry, the new king of England.
With the former sided the larger portion of the whole knighthood
of England and France, of whom the following were the more
illustrious : — The marshal of France, with his retainers ; the earl of
Perches,1 who is said to have been the uncle of this Louis, and a
kinsman to each of the two kings, (of England, namely, and of
France,) with his retainers; and very many others of the nobility
of France, with a countless number of knights, men-at-arms,
retainers, crossbowmen, and foot-soldiers. On Louis's side also
were nearly all the nobles and barons of England. On the part
of the new king Henry stood this cardinal G[ualo], who, clothed in
his sacred robes, excommunicated, by the authority of Almighty
God and our lord the pope, all who favoured the interests of
Louis. With him were the archbishop of York, and seven
bishops, namely those of Worcester, Hereford, Salisbury, Lincoln,
Bath, Exeter, and Winchester ; the two Williams, the marshals
of England, William Longsword, earl of Salisbury, and the
earl of Albemarl, Robert de Vipont, Brian de Insula, Geoffrey de
Neville, the chamberlain of England, and Richard, the son of king
John. So all those persons who were on the side of Louis, being
bowed down with the heavy burden of excommunication, were
captured in this battle by a few, not without a miracle, and im
prisoned in the city of Lincoln. It is much to be lamented that
the noble earl of Perche died a cruel and a violent death in this
battle, after having defended himself for a long time.
On the seventh of the ides of September [7th Sept.], in this
same year, the general army of the whole of England was collected
near London, as well as a considerable portion of the soldiery of
France; and by the mediation of the cardinal G[ualo] (so frequently
mentioned), and the nobility of the two kingdoms, a reconciliation
was effected between Louis, the son of the king of France, and Henry,
the new king of England, upon the understanding, however, that
ten thousand pounds should be paid to this Louis, to meet the
expenses which he had incurred. The said Louis and his fellow-
soldiers went, ungirded and barefoot, from his pavilion to the tent
of the cardinal, and prayed for absolution; and this coveted abso
lution he at last obtained, but not until he had previously made
oath that he would abide by the sentence of the church, and that
within a specified period he would rid England of himself and his
1 See L'Art, xiii. 181, ed. 8vo.
A. D. 1218.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 169
followers. As for the barons and knights who had been taken
prisoners, and put into ward on either side, they were all of them
absolved, and freed, and delivered (as were all the English) from
the homage which they had performed to the said Louis. But
as for the king of Scotland, he and all his earls, and barons,
knights and nobles, bishops and prelates of the entire realm of
Scotland, were interdicted and excommunicated.
In this same year Alexander, king of Scotland, collected his
army, and advanced towards England; but when he arrived at
Jedewurth, he heard of the peace which had been concluded
between Louis and the king of England, and thereupon he dis
banded his army, and remained there during the month of Sep
tember. Our lord Alexander, the king of Scotland, was absolved
from the bond of excommunication by the lord archbishop of
York, and by the lord bishop of Durham, at Berwick, upon the
kalends of December [1st Dec.], by authority of the legate, who
was resident in England, and the third day afterwards the mother
of the said king was absolved by the lord bishop of Durham. As
soon as the archbishop had absolved the king, he proceeded on his
journey towards Carlisle, that he might receive the seisin of the
castle by mandate of the king of Scotland, for the use of the king
of England. At this same time, while the king was on his way
towards England, the whole church of Scotland having been placed
under interdict, ceased from the celebration of divine service, with
the exception of the white monks, who still celebrated, according
to the privileges which they had received from the apostolic see.
Upon his arrival at Northampton1 the king was received with the
greatest respect, as well by the said legate as by the new king of
England, and there he did homage to the king of England for the
earldom of Huntingdon, and the other lands which his prede
cessors had held of the kings of England, on the Saturday next
before Christmas-day [23d Dec.].
A. D. 1218. In the beginning of January, William Malvecine, lord
bishop of St. Andrew's, returned into his own bishopric from the
general council at Rome. About the end of the same month the
same legate, who yet lingered in England, sent William, the prior
of Durham, and master Walter de Wisebech, the archdeacon of
the East Riding, to absolve the church of Scotland, its priests and
people (with the exception of the bishops and prelates), from the
bond of excommunication and the interdict. Commencing at
Berwick, they went round Scotland, and perambulated it. They
arrived at Edinburgh to visit the king, and there they received
from him and his people an oath that they would abide by the
judgment of the church, and the commands of our lord the pope.
Thence they went into the very heart of Scotland, even as far as
Aberdeen. On their return they paid a visit at Lundors, and there
the bedchamber in which the prior and his monks were asleep
1 It appears from the Patent Rolls, 2 Hen. III., that Alexander had a safe-conduct
dated at Northampton, 12th Dec., for his return into his own kingdom; writs
were also addressed to the sheriffs of no less than ten counties in England, com
manding them to give him seisin of the lands and tenements in their jurisdiction
which h;id formerly belonged to earl David.
170 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1218— »
caught fire through the carelessness and wasteful expenditure of
the guestmasters. The prior was nearly suffocated with the fire
and smoke, and hardly escaped with his life : he did not long sur
vive this accident, for, though he reached Coldingham, he was then
nearly exhausted, and he died there upon the second of the ides of
May [14th May].
In this same year, at the Incarnation of our Lord [25th March],
master W[alter] de Wisebech, in virtue of the authority delegated
to him by the said legate, commanded that all the monks of the
Cistercian order throughout Scotland should wholly cease from the
celebration of divine service. These abbots, that is to say, Ralph,
abbot of Melrose, Adam of Newbottle, Alexander of Cupre,
Ralph of Kinlos, and Hugh of St. Serfs, having placed all that
they had under the peace of God, and the protection of our lord
the pope, went to the said legate at York, where, after many
prayers, and through the intercession of many suppliants, they
obtained for themselves (but with difficulty) the favour of abso
lution. In the meantime this same W [alter] de Wisebech, along
with numerous clerks and prelates, held a council at Berwick on
Palm Sunday [8th April] and the day following, in which he de
nounced as excommunicate the said monks within the realm of
Scotland, and all who communicated with them. But these monks
did as they had done before ; they appealed to the presence of our
lord the pope, as well against the said legate as against W[alter];
and renewing the application which had been made by the lord
abbot of Citeaux for the integrity of the order, they considered
that denunciation as invalid. When he heard this, the said legate
grew exceeding wrathful, and swore to the prelates who were in
company with him that he would show no favour whatever either
to them or their convents, until he should have been assured by
the testimony of their bishops or deans that these very convents had
submitted to the interdict. Upon the receipt of letters from their
abbots, the monks refrained for some time from either celebrating
divine service, or from entering the church; until, by the com
mand of the legate, they received absolution at the hand of lord
Wplliam], bishop of St. Andrews, they having first made oath that
they would abide by the judgment of the church, and the commands
of our lord the pope ; their order and privileges being saved.
In the same year, in the month of May, Stephen, archbishop
of Canterbury, returned from the general council, and reached
England; and on his arrival all rejoiced as if he had been an angel
of peace, and an affectionate father and pastor, and again and again
they sung, " Blessed be he who cometh in the name of the Lord."
This year, upon the departure from England of the said G[ualo]
the legate, there came thither one Pandulf, a clerk of the see of
Rome, at that time the legate appointed for England, and bishop -
elect of Norwich. W[illiam], archdeacon of Buckingham, was
elected bishop of Worcester. The bishop of Brechin died, and was
succeeded by Gregory, the archdeacon of the said bishopric.
In the same year died Otho, the emperor of Germany, and was
succeeded by Frederick, called the Child of Apulia. The earl of
A.D. 1219.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 171
Burgundy died also; and Simon, earl of Montfort, was killed. May
their souls rest in peace !
On the third of the nones of October [7th Oct.] died Henry,
abbot of Kelso, in whose place Richard, the prior of the same
house, succeeded on the fourteenth of the kalends of November
[19th Oct], In the same year nearly all the abbots of England,
Wales, and Scotland, set out for the general chapter at the com
mand of the lord abbot of Citeaux, as they had to discuss matters
of importance. From this chapter the lord of Citeaux, and he of
Clairvaux,and seven others, their fellow-abbots, proceeded to Rome,
there to lay their complaint of the injuries done to their order
by the said cardinal G[ualo] ; and there they fully obtained their
object against the said cardinal, by the help of God, and the assist
ance of His mother the ever Virgin Mary, the advocate and especial
patroness of that order. Moreover, upon this very occasion the
same Conrad, abbot of Citeaux, was elected and consecrated by
the pope as bishop of Portua, and furthermore was made a car
dinal, to the honour of God and our order, and as a token of
the defeat of that same cardinal Gfualo] . He was succeeded in
the office of abbot of Citeaux by Gaucher,1 abbot of Longpont.
There set out from Scotland for the apostolic see, three bishops
following ; namely, Walter, bishop of Glasgow, Brice, bishop of
Moray, and Adam, bishop of Caithness, to procure their abso
lution. They returned in the following year.
A.D. 1219. Adam de Colville died. William de Valoniis died
at Kelso, and his body was carried to Melrose (contrary to the
wishes of the monks of that house), and there honourably buried
in the chapter-house of the monks, near the burial-place of his
father. G.2 Avenel died, and his body was interred in the same
chapter-house. In the kalends of June [1st June] died Ralph,
abbot of Melrose, and he was succeeded in the government of the
house by Adam, abbot of Newbottle, on the eighth of the ides of
August [6th Aug.]. Richard, master of the converts of Newbottle,
succeeded him. Henry, abbot of Newminster, died at Pipewell,
and was succeeded by Robert, the master of the converts of the
same house.
That celebrated city of the pagans, Damietta by name, was
taken by Christ alone, after having been besieged for nearly three
years by the Christian army, and it was entrusted, by a great
miracle, to the keeping of the Christians on the nones of Novem
ber [5th Nov.].
How Damietta was taken, A.D. 1219.
" H.,3 the humble master of the house of the Teutonic
knights in Jerusalem, sends greeting to the reverend Cardinal
L. by the title of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.
" Let it be known to your eminence, that Almighty God has
1 Walter or Galcher de Ochies, concerning whom see Gall. Christ, iv. 992.
2 This was probably Gervase Avenel ; concerning whom see Morton's Monastic
Annals, p. 274; and Fordun, ii. 43.
3 Herman de Salza was grand master of the Teutonic order at this time.
L'Art, xvi. 473, ed. 8vo.
172 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1219-^
vouchsafed to be merciful to the Christian army, which had been
long worn out, and has wonderfully and mercifully delivered up to
those who are in exile for His Name the city of Damietta, without
any wound being inflicted or battle fought, so that this cannot be
attributed to the deserts of any one, but solely to His own glory.
Know, then, that God's mercy wrought in this open manner for us
about the fore-named city. Such a terrible mortality broke out
among its inhabitants, that the living could not bury the dead. The
survivors were so oppressed with the burden of disease, that when
we first gained an entrance into the city we found more than three
thousand human corpses lying in the street, like so many dead
dogs. Our men, during the silence of midnight, were admitted
into the city by the connivance (as we believe) of some of the garri
son ; and the legate sent his messengers, who secured many of the
towers, and took prisoners a large body of the infidels. Many others
took refuge in the towers which were more strongly fortified, and
waited therein until day should dawn. And at sunrise, upon the
nones of November [5th Nov.], all the Saracens in Damietta sur
rendered themselves, and gave up (entirely, but unwillingly) the
city into the power of the Christians. In the confusion incident
upon the first taking possession of the city, many evil-disposed per
sons got in, and privately carried away an enormous sum of money.
The leaders of the army perceiving what great things God had done,
by common consent agreed that they would collect into one mass
the whole of the gold and silver ; and the lord legate excommuni
cated all who kept back any portion of it, unless he repented by
making restitution thereof. We are not sufficiently well informed
to specify the exact amount of this money ; for when this present
letter was being written, the sum total had not been calculated. But
the Saracens whom we have captured tell us (what we ourselves know
by inspection) that the amount of treasure which has been dis
covered is incalculable ; and the general wish is, that it should
be divided among the army at large. We are apprehensive that the
love of this money will lead to much theft. We have also to in
form you that before the city of Damietta was taken, the citizens
declared that they were so exhausted that they could no longer
hold out. The soldan, however, encouraged them in friendly
manner, promising assistance, to render which he exposed his
troops to considerable danger. Two days before the surrender
of the city, he sent five hundred picked men from his army, and
attempted to throw them into it. When they arrived from the
soldan's army, they wished to pass through our troops, near the
engine which is called the Trebuchet of St. John, but God's pro
vidence caused them to miss their way. At that part of the siege
which was under the care of the king of Jerusalem, two hundred
men, armed with swords and scimitars, attempted to force their
way into the town, and they put to flight the watchers who were
on duty at the fosse where they wished to enter ; for the king and
his soldiers were spending that night on the sand. God's grace
assisting us, the alarm grew stronger ; and all the pilgrims rushing
to the spot, one hundred and forty of these assailants were killed,
A. D. 1221.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 173
forty taken prisoners, and only one hundred and twenty entered the
city. Their companions were slain, and they, having been cap
tured the third day afterwards in the town, are henceforth con
demned to perpetual imprisonment. Such of the others as escaped
imprisonment and the sword returned to the soldan, and told him
what had happened. On the night which followed the day upon
which we took Damietta, the army of the soldan struck its tents and
removed further up the Nile; but we know not where they now
are, or what are their plans.
" We have further to acquaint you, that previous to the capture
of Damietta, the soldan's messengers had a conference with us, and
expressed their willingness to give up to us the whole of the Holy
Land, excepting only the two castles of Crac and Muntreal, and
even for them they are ready to pay an annual rent to the Chris
tians, as long as peace should continue. Moreover, that all the
Christian captives l
A.D. 1220. On the nones of April [5th April] died Richard,
abbot of Newbottle, and was succeeded by Richard, the prior of the
same house. On the morrow of the octaves of Peter and Paul
[7th July] the reliques of the blessed Thomas the martyr were trans
lated ; and in the parts on this side of the sea it was commanded
that this day should be held as a feast. Upon the fourth of the
nones of November [2d Nov.], Ralph, abbot of Kinlos, a man full of
good days, departed in a holy old age from this world to heaven, as
we trust ; he was succeeded in the care of his government by
Robert, the first abbot of Der, in whose stead, as abbot of Der,
was elected Alexander, prior of Kinlos. In the land of our re
demption, Robert Curzun2 departed from this life to the land of
divine promise, as we believe ; he was a man full of the catholic faith,
ornamented with virtues and wisdom ; and (as those who return
from thence report) by his intercession with God, many and great
miracles are performed.
A.D. 1221. Master James, a canon of St. Victor at Paris, the
penitentiary of the apostolic see, the legate for Scotland and Ireland,
held a general council at Perth, to which he summoned the prelates
of the whole realm. It continued for four days, the first of which
was on the octaves of the Purification [9th Feb.].
On the Saturday next before the feast of St. John the Baptist
[19th June], our lord Alexander, the king of Scotland, married
at York the daughter3 of John, and the sister of Henry, king
of England; and after the nuptials had been celebrated with the
exceeding splendour which was fitting such an occasion, he con
ducted her into Scotland, to the great joy of all the inhabitants of
both kingdoms.
On the nones of August [2d Aug.] died Richard, abbot of
Kelso; he was succeeded by Herbert Maunsel, the secretary of that
same house. Philip de Stichil died.
1 The letter here ends abruptly at the bottom of the folio, and the subject is
not resumed on the next page.
2 See Ciaconius, ii. 37.
3 See Feed. i. 165. Fordun (ii. 43) incorrectly places this event in 1220.
174 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1221—
In this same year, by the consent of the kings of England and
Scotland, and by the advice of the nobility of both realms, the lady
Margaret l (the daughter of William, king of Scotland, of holy
memory, and the sister of our lord king Alexander, was given in
marriage to Herbert de Burc,2 the justiciary of England and
Scotland.
In this year, the famous city of Damietta,3 of which possession
had recently been obtained by the Christians, having been too care
lessly and inertly defended by them, was again besieged by the
pagans, and entirely taken out of their hands, on the eve of the
decollation of St. John the Baptist [28th Aug.]. We do not know
why this so happened, or by what judgment of God it was brought
about ; more especially as in this city the beauty of the worship of
God had already begun to be regarded. For a new bishop, who
had been ordained to that city, had an income of one thousand
talents, and in it there were also forty canons, each of whom had
a yearly revenue of one hundred talents.
A.D. 1222. Brice, bishop of Moray, died, and was succeeded by
master Andrew de Moray. Alexander, abbot of Der, died upon
the eighth of the ides of September [6th Sept.], when he was upon
his journey to attend the general council at the Valley of the blessed
Mary. In returning from the same chapter, Geoffrey, abbot of
Dundrenan, died in the house of Alba-ripa.
In this same year, that father of holy memory, and that excellent
pastor, Adam, bishop of Caithness, formerly abbot of Melrose, and
a true monk of the Cistercian order, together with a fellow-monk of
his, named Serlo, a deacon of Newbottle, was permitted happily to
attain unto the brotherhood of the heavenly citizens (as we trust),
having passed through the triumph of manifold suffering. For as,
while upon earth, he was allowed to become a partaker of the
martyrdom of the saints, so may we be permitted to believe that he
was not deprived of their society in heaven ; the more especially
as he was content to suffer death for the sake of justice, namely,
for the claim of tithes according to the use of ecclesiastical
authority, and, like a good shepherd, he chose rather to lay down his
life for his sheep than to permit the flock which had been entrusted
to his charge to continue any longer in an inveterate error. And
since it is the cause, rather than the suffering, which makes the
martyr, so, in his case, the cause was plain and just, the suffering
most cruel ; and, therefore, to withhold from him the honour and
the merit which he has earned would be to do him injury, the more
especially as he, in his own person, is well known to have borne
the sufferings of many martyrs. He endured cruel threats and
frequent taunts; he was exposed to crushing blows and bloody
wounds ; he endured the staves of St. James, and the stones of St.
Stephen; and, at length, the flames of St. Laurence presented him
1 It had previously been intended that she should marry Thibaud the fourth,
earl of Champagne (Harl. MS. 1244, No. 3), or Henry the third, king of England
(Rot. Pat. 21 Hen. III. dorso.).
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 694 ; Fordun, ii. 44.
3 See M. Paris, p. 216, where are two letters upon this subject. One yet more
curious, and hitherto unprinted, occurs in the Burney MS. 351, p. 246.
A. D. 1223.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 175
as a burnt-offering to the Lord. Thus he suffered martyrdom at his
episcopal manor, which in the English tongue is called Haukirc, on
Sunday, the third of the ides of September [llth Sept.]. After the
flames had been extinguished, his body was discovered under a pile
of stones, entire, though broiled with the fire and discoloured from
the blows inflicted by the stones ; and it was committed to the
grave, with the honour which was so fully its due, in the baptismal
church, before the holy altar. Thus the faithful daughter received
into the protection of her own bosom that father whom his wicked
and unnatural sons had so cruelly put to death, there to rest until
he shall arise in glory to a happy resurrection.
Geoffrey, abbot of Dundrainan, died, at Alba-ripa, as he was
returning from the general chapter. P. de Valoniis, with the
consent of our lord the king, took to wife . ... * the widow of
Walter de Lindsey, but against his own will, because they were
connected in the third or fourth degree of relationship or affinity :
whereupon this P. went to Rome, and (as he himself states) ob
tained from our lord the pope a dispensation from remaining
in the marriage which he had contracted. Robert, archdeacon of
Glasgow, of holy memory, died at London while on his way back
from Rome ; and his body was honourably buried there in the ceme
tery of the blessed apostle Paul. He was succeeded in the archdea
conry by Thomas, parson of Lillisclive, who died in the same year;
his successor was the clerk Thomas, who afterwards became the
chancellor of our lord the king of Scotland.
A.D. 1223. Philip, king of France, being full of days, died in a
good old age, and in the catholic faith, upon the second of the ides
of July [14th July], in the forty-third year of his reign. I do not
know how old he was. He left, by will, fifty thousand pounds
(according to the calculation of Paris,) to the temple at Jerusalem,
and other fifty thousand pounds to the hospital at Jerusalem,
and other fifty thousand to John de Brienne, who was at that
time king of Jerusalem ; gifts worthy of a king. Louis, his son,
succeeded him in his kingdom, at that time a bold and manly
knight. Upon the kalends of February [1st Feb.] died William,
abbot of Rievaux, and was succeeded by Roger, abbot of Warden,
whose office at Wardon William, the prior of that place, was ap
pointed to fill. Robert Macussal, sub-prior of Dundrainan, was
created abbot of that same house, on the vigil of the Epiphany
[5th Jan.]. About the same time, Herbert, monk of Cupre, was
made abbot of Der. Adam, abbot of Holmcultram, resigned his
office, and was succeeded by Ralph, abbot of Jugum Dei in Ireland;
in whose place in Ireland was appointed John, the cellarer of
Glenluce.
John de Brienne, king of Jerusalem, came into England for
the purpose of discussing various important matters with the king
of England and his nobility, at London. Isabella, the daughter
of William, that king of good memory, and the sister of Alexander,
the king of Scotland, returned from the wardship of the king of
England, being still unmarried.
1 So in the original manuscript.
176 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1224—
A.D. 1224.
A.D. 1225.
A.D. 1226. Louis, king of France, died; and also Rpchard] de
Marisco, bishop of Durham.
A. D. 1227. The venerable pope Honorius died, the father and the
protector of the Cistercian order ; may his soul live in glory ! His
successor was pope Gregory, who had formerly been bishop of
Ostia.
Upon Whitsunday [30th May], Alexander, the king of Scotland,
invested with the arms of knighthood John the Scot, earl of
Huntingdon, his kinsman, being the son of earl David, as well as
many other of the nobility, at the castle of Roxburgh.
Thomas, who was the king's chancellor, and the archdeacon of
Glasgow, died ; he was succeeded in the archdeaconry by master
Hugh de Pottun ; and master Matthew Scot was made the king's
chancellor.
William, the son of John, the lord of Hunum, died ; his nephew,
John de Laundells, succeeded him.
A.D. 1228. Richard, bishop of Salisbury, was translated to
Durham. Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, died.
A.D. 1229. The abbey of St. Edward, of Balmorinac, was
founded by king Alexander and his mother ; and the convent was
sent thither from Melrose, with Alan its abbot, upon the day of
St. Lucy the Virgin [13th Dec.]. There were consecrated
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, and Roger, bishop of London,
and Hugh, bishop of Ely, and Robert, of Salisbury.
A.D. 1230. Simon de Rise was elected abbot of Rufford in the
chapter-house of Melrose, upon the day of the conversion of
St. Paul [25th Jan.].
Malcolm, earl of Fife, died, and was buried in the church of
St. Servanus, of Kilenross, of which he had been the founder.
His nephew Malcolm, the son of his brother, succeeded him ; he
afterwards married the daughter of Leulin. At this time1 was the
first entrance into Scotland of the Jacobin friars, and of the monks
De Valle Olerum. Master Richard de Graunt was consecrated
archbishop of Canterbury ; and master Roger Niger, bishop of
London ; and Roger, abbot of St. Edmund's, bishop of Ely.
A.D. 1231. Thomas, the brother of Alan of Galloway, earl of
Athol, died, and was buried in the abbey of Cupre. The friars
Minors now came into Scotland for the first time.
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, died, and John, earl of
Caithness, was killed and burnt in his house ; a punishment which
he had merited at God's hands, for he had inflicted the like injury
upon the venerable bishop Adam.
A.D. 1232. Walter, bishop of Glasgow, died in the twenty-
fourth year of his episcopate ; after whom, William, the king's chan
cellor, was elected. William de Ramsey, the abbot of St. Servanus,
died ; his successor was Hugh, master of the converts at Melrose,
who was elected upon the day of the conversion of St. Mary
[25th Aug.]. Ralph, earl of Chester, died, and was succeeded by
1 See Fordun, ii. 58.
A. D. 1234.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 177
his nephew, John the Scot, the earl of Huntingdon, who, a few
years previously, had married the daughter of Leulin.
Patrick,1 the venerable earl of Dunbar, invited his sons and
daughters, his kinsmen and his neighbours, to spend the festival of
our Lord's Nativity happily together. When four days had been
thus occupied, he was seized with a severe illness, whereupon he
summoned A. abbot of Melrose, his friend and kinsman, and
received extreme unction and the dress of monk at his hands ;
and thus, bidding a last farewell to all, he died upon the day of St.
Sylvester [31st Jan.] (after having held the earldom for fifty years),
and was buried in the church of St. Mary at Hecclis. He was
succeeded by his son Patrick, a sturdy knight, the king's2 nephew.
Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, was consecrated.
A.D. 1233. Ermergerdis of good memory, the mother of king
Alexander, and the queen of William, king of Scotland, died on
the third of the ides of February [llth Feb.], after having been
married forty- seven years ; and she was buried in the abbey of
St. Edward, of Balmorinac, which she herself had founded.
The church of St. Mary at Newbotel was dedicated by Andrew,
bishop of Moray, upon the third of the ides of March [13th
March]. Also, the church of Abberbrohoc was dedicated upon
the eighth of the ides of May [8th May]. Also, the church of
St. Mary of Cupre was dedicated upon the ides of May [15th
May]. '
Gilbert, abbot of Glenluce, resigned his office in the chapter
house of Melrose ; and there he made his profession. Alan of
Galloway gave his daughter to John de Bailiol in marriage, and
also his sister to Walter Biseth.
The canon Clement, one of the order of the Friars Preachers,
was elected to the bishopric of Dunblain, and was consecrated by
William, bishop of St. Andrew's, on the day of the translation of
St. Cuthbert [4th Sept.], at Wedale. Also, William, bishop of
Glasgow, was consecrated by Andrew, bishop of Moray, on the
Sunday after the Nativity of the blessed Mary [llth Sept.], in his
church of Glasgow. William, abbot of Holmcultran, resigned his
office, and was succeeded by Gilbert, the master of the converts
of the same house. William Cumin, earl of Buwhan, the founder
of the abbey of Der, died.
A.D. 1234. Alan, the son of Roland, lord of Galloway, and
constable of Scotland, died, and was buried at Dundraynan, leaving
behind him three daughters, his heirs, and one base-born3 son,
who, during the lifetime of his father, had married the daughter of
the king of Man. His daughters were thus married : the eldest
married Roger de Quincy, earl of Winchester ; the second, John
de Baylol; the husband of the third was the son of the earl of
Albemarle. Among them was divided the land of this earl Alan.
But the inhabitants of that land, preferring one master rather than
1 This was Patrick, the fifth earl of Dunbar. Douglas's Baronetage, ii. 168 ;
Wyntown, i. 370.
2 This Patrick was the son of Ada, a natural daughter of king William. See
above, under the year 1184.
3 See Fordun, ii. 60.
VOL. IV. N
178 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1234 —
several, went to our lord the king, with the request that he himself
would accept the lordship of that inheritance ; but the king was
too just to do this. Hereupon the Galwegians were angry above
measure, and prepared for war ; moreover, they devastated with
fire and sword some of the royal lands contiguous to themselves ;
an action which afterwards redounded to their own loss, as will
presently appear.
Walran, abbot of Dere, died ; and in his stead, Hugh, the
venerable prior of Melrose, was elected.
A.D. 1235. W. bishop of Whithern, died; and on the first
Sunday in Lent [25th Feb.], Gilbert, master of the novices of
Melrose, and formerly abbot of Glenluce, was elected bishop, as
well by the clergy as by the entire population of Galloway, with
the exception of the prior and convent of Whitherne. But upon
the Sunday on which is sung " Oculi mei " [18th March], the said
prior and his convent chose Odo, formerly abbot of Deretonsal ; *
accompanied by whom they forthwith went to Walter de Gray,
archbishop of York, demanding from him the office of consecration.
They did not prevail, however, for he had heard of the former
election. Having listened to the pleadings on both sides, he
rejected Odo, and consecrated the aforesaid Gilbert, monk of
Melrose, to be bishop in the cathedral church of York, upon the
Sunday next before the Nativity of the blessed Mary [2d Sept.].
After Hugh, the elect of Der, had presided over that church for
a single year, he returned to the monastery of Melrose ; and there he
resigned his office, influenced no less by bodily infirmity than by
the coldness of that locality. Shortly after he had been restored to
the office of prior, he departed in faith to the Lord. Robert, a monk
of the same house, was made abbot of Der. Robert Grostet was
consecrated to Lincoln. Henry, king of England, married Alienor.
In the same year, on the Sunday next before the feast of the
blessed Mary Magdalene [15th July], our lord the king collected an
army, and entered into Galloway. Having reached a spot which ap
peared at first sight to be convenient for the purpose, he determined
that he would there pitch his tents, for the day was now drawing
towards the evening. The Galwegians, however, (who had all day
long been lurking among the mountains,) knew the place better ;
and, trusting to their local acquaintance with its difficulties, they
offered the king battle. In truth, the spot was filled with bogs,
which were covered all over with grass and flowers, amongst which
the larger portion of the royal army had involved itself. At the
beginning of the battle, the earl of Ross, named Makinsagat,2 came
up, and attacked the enemies in the rear ; and as soon as they per
ceived this they took to flight, and retreated into the woods and
mountains, but they were followed up by the earl and several
others, who put many of them to the sword, and harassed them as
long as the daylight lasted. On the next day the king,3 acting upon
1 Probably Holywood, in Galloway, for which this is the Celtic equivalent.
2 Apparently Ferquhard, second earl of Ross. See Fordun. ii. 61.
3 According to M, Paris, Alexander defeated the insurgents in April 1236; but
our Chronicle is probably correct in its dates.
A.D. 1235.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 179
his accustomed humanity, extended his peace to as many as came
to him ; and so the surviving Galwegians, with ropes round their
necks, accepted his offer. The bastard T. (whom we have already
mentioned), and Gilrodh, who incited him to his rebellion, went
over to Ireland.
Having obtained this victory, the king, finding that matters of
importance demanded his presence in other parts of his realm,
departed from this district ; but he entrusted the earl of Manetheth1
with the duty of reducing it to order. After the king's departure,
certain of the Scots, knaves rather than knights, plundered the
abbeys of that district so thoroughly, that in their accursed mad
ness, finding a monk who was at the very point of death, lying
within the infirmary of Glenlus, they stripped him of even the
scrap of sackcloth with which he was covered and carried it off.
At Tungland, they killed the prior and the sacrist within the
church ; but the Almighty did not suffer their sins to pass unpun
ished ; for not long afterwards that murderer was caught and
drawn by horses at Roxburgh.
When the Scots heard that this Gfilrodh] had returned from
Ireland, bringing with him a fleet and a body of the Irish, together
with the son of one of their chieftains, they, in the midst of their
hasty flight, arrived at a piece of water, in which many of them
perished by means of that accursed army. But when this Gfilrodh]
returned from Ireland, no sooner did he reach the land, than he
directed that every ship should be broken up ; using this device, to
prevent any one of those whom he had brought with him from
returning home again.
As soon as these tidings reached G. bishop of Galloway,
A. abbot of Melrose, and P. earl of Dunbar, they did not
fail to extend to the son, though degenerating, the friendship in
which they had held the father while living. The bishop and
abbot proceeded to the district of Galloway unattended, but the
earl was accompanied with his troops ; and they informed this
Gplrodh] that he must either make his submission to the king, or
engage the earl's army in battle. Perceiving his inferiority in
numbers, Gplrodh] followed their advice, and the king placed him
for some time in the custody of the earl already mentioned. Being
thus deprived of all counsel and assistance, the bastard was enforced
to sue for the king's peace. He was imprisoned for a short time
in Edinburgh castle, and then the king gave him his freedom.
After this the Irish secretly departed from the country ; and as
they were passing by the city of Glasgow they were discovered by
the citizens, who unanimously sallied forth, and cut off the heads
of as many as they could lay hands upon. They saved two of the
oldest of the party, whom they afterwards caused to be drawn by
horses at Edinburgh. Thus Galloway, having been at last restored
to tranquillity, those who had inherited it took possession of their
lands, which they divided equally among themselves.
1 Walter Comyn, second son of William, earl of Buchan, became earl of Mon-
teth in right of his wife, the daughter of Maurice, earl of Monteth. See
Douglas's Baron, ii. 223.
N 2
180 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1235—
The lady Marjory, the sister of our lord Alexander, the king of
the Scots, was married at Berwick, upon the day of St. Peter ad
Vincula [1st Aug.], to the earl of Pembroke. There were present
at the marriage the king himself and the chief of the nobility of his
realm ; and on the other side were G., the marshal of England,
and the bridegroom, together with a large number of the English
nobles.
This year our lord Alexander, king of Scotland,1 gave the forest
of Ettrich to the house of Melrose, and decreed that the abbey of
Melrose, and its four circumjacent granges, should be free of his
forest.
A.D. 1236. Constantine, abbot of Newbottle, resigned his office,
and he was succeeded in it by Roger, the cellarer of Melrose.
This same year died Gilbert, the venerable bishop of Dunkeld,
and he was buried in the island of St. Columbanus. Geoffrey, the
king's clerk, was elected in his stead.
Jordan, abbot of Dundraynan, and Robert abbot of Glenluce,
whom we have just mentioned, were deposed; and Leonius, a monk
of Melrose, was chosen to rule Dundraynan on the day before the
Ascension [7th May] ; and not long afterwards Michael, the prior of
Melrose, was appointed abbot of Glenluce. Alan, the first abbot of
St. Edward's of Balmurinauh, died on the vigil of the apostles
Peter and Paul [28th June]. Ralph, the cellarer of the same
house, succeeded him.
The kings of England and Scotland had an interview 2 at New
castle, where they discussed their affairs.
William, bishop of Worcester, died. On the day of the Nativity
of the blessed Mary [9th Sept.], Herbert, abbot of Kelso, laid down
his staff and mitre upon the great altar, and in this manner bade
adieu to the pastoral care. He was succeeded by Hugh de . . . 3,
a monk of the same place.
A.D. 1237. Richard, bishop of Durham, of holy memory, died;
he was the illustrious founder of the new church of Salisbury, and
he went the way of all flesh upon the day after the festival of the
saints Tiburtius and Valerius [15th April], being the third day of
the week before Easter, on the first hour of the day ; and his body
was buried in the church of the nuns of Tarent, which he had
founded. At this present time the limbs of sick people, whatever
be the nature of their disease, are frequently restored to health at
his holy tomb.
During this year the two kings, with their queens and the nobility
of both realms, had a meeting at York,4 upon the day of St.
Maurice [22d Sept.], and there they discussed the affairs of their
respective kingdoms for fifteen days, in the presence of Otho, the
legate of our lord the pope. Upon the breaking up of the con
ference, the king of Scotland returned home ; but the queen of
Scotland, together with the queen of England, went onwards to
1 An extract from the donation charter is printed in Morton's Monastic Annals,
p. 273.
2 See Foad. i. 221, and especially M. Paris, pp. 295, 296.
3 The name is erased from the MS., but it was Maunsel.
4 See Feed. i. 233; M. Paris, p. 305; Fordim, ii. 65.
A.D. 1239.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 181
Canterbury, for the sake of praying there. She died in the neigh
bourhood of London, as will presently appear.
Gilbert, abbot of Holmcoltran, died at Canterbury, on his way
home from the general chapter; and he was succeeded by John,
the abbot of Jugum Dei : whereupon Nicolas, the prior of Jugum
Dei, took upon himself the pastoral care of that house.
A. D. 1238. Master Hugh de Potton, archdeacon of Glasgow,
died ; and after his decease the archdeaconry was divided ; for
master Matthew de Habirden assumed the title of archdeacon of
Glasgow, and master Peter de Alingtun was styled archdeacon
of Thevidale.
William, abbot of Dunfermelin, died, and was succeeded by
Geoffrey, the prior of the same house.
The lady Johanna,1 queen of Scotland, was attacked by a severe
illness when in the neighbourhood of London, where she died, on
the 4th of the nones of March [4th March], in the arms of her
brothers Henry, king of England, and Rpchard], duke of Cornwall,
after having received the sacraments of the church. She died
childless. Her brothers buried her body, with great grief and with
equal magnificence, in the church of the nuns of Tarent.
William Malevicine, bishop of St. Andrew's, died, and David de
Bernam was elected to the bishopric. The abbot of Clairvaux
died; and John, abbot of Citeaux, resigned his pastoral office, there
being no small discord in the order. Peter, bishop of Winchester,
died.
In this year there broke out a lamentable war between our lord
pope Gregory and the emperor Frederick, surnamed the Youth of
Apulia, between whom the holy church is reported to have en
countered many a storm in our times.
During this year the intelligence reached our country for the
first time, respecting the devastations committed in many lands by
the accursed army of the Tartars, respecting the truth of which we
shall have more to say presently.
A. D. 1239. Gilbert, bishop of Aberdeen, died, and was suc
ceeded by Ralph de Lamley, abbot of Haberbrothoce. Roger, abbot
of Rievaux, resigned his office, and his successor was Leonius,
abbot of Dundraynan and monk of Melrose. Richard, prior of
Melrose . . . .2
Alexander, the most noble king of Scotland, took to wife the
lady Mary, the daughter of the illustrious Ingeran de Cuchi, on the
ides of May [15th May], being Whitsunday, at Roxburgh . . . . 3
and the lord Herbert was compelled by the command of Otho, the
legate of our lord the pope, to resume the office which he had so
unadvisedly relinquished.
Edward, the eldest son of the king of England, was born on the
day before the kalends of June [31st May]. Richard, prior of
Melrose, was elected to the government of the house of Dun-
iraynan.
Otho — cardinal deacon by the title of St. Nicolas in Carcere
1 See M. Paris, p. 316. 2 This sentence is imperfect in the MS.
3 A considerable erasure here occurs in the MS.
182 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1239—
Tulliano, and the legate of the apostolic see— came into Scotland,
about the feast of St. Matthew the apostle and evangelist [21st
Sept.] ; and he being at Melrose upon the eve of St. Dionysius
[8th Oct.], the before -mentioned H. was elected, for the second
time, abbot of Kelso, in his presence ; for his predecessor Herbert
(a man worthy of all praise for his life and conversation), being now
full of years, had of his own free will resigned the pastoral office.
The same Otho held a council at Edinburgh, upon the morrow of
St. Luke the evangelist [19th Oct.], and departed from Scotland
after the feast of All Saints [1st Nov.].
Henry, abbot of Jeddeworth, being far advanced in years, resigned
the pastoral charge on account of his bodily infirmity, being suc
ceeded therein by Philip, a canon of the same house.
This year the bones of the venerable Adam, bishop of Caithness,
were removed from the spot in which they had been buried after
his martyrdom ; l and having been conveyed to his episcopal see,
they were there honourably interred. It is reported that many
miracles were performed at their removal.
A.D. 1240. The venerable Leonius, abbot of Rievaux, died on
the sixth of the ides of January [8th Jan.] ; he was succeeded as
abbot, after Easter, by Adam de Tilletai.
In the same year, upon St. Brice's day [22d Jan.], David de
Bernam was consecrated in his see by William, bishop of Glasgow.
Walter, abbot of Driburgh, resigned his office ; and John, a canon
of the same house, succeeded him. L[lewellyn], king of Wales,
died, and was succeeded by his son David.
John de Normanville died ; and Alexander, abbot of Cupre,
resigned his pastoral care, being succeeded therein by Gilbert, a
monk of the same house. Joceline, bishop of Bath, died. The
bishop of Norwich also died, and was succeeded by William de
Raley. Master Robert de Bigham, bishop of Salisbury, died ; also
master Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, died, and Boniface suc
ceeded. Alexander, bishop of Chester, also died, and was succeeded
by Hugh de Patishil.
Moreover, our lord pope Gregory enjoined that some bishops
from out of every realm which professed the Christian faith, should
attend at Rome, and appear personally before him on the Easter
next ensuing [31st March, 1241]. There were summoned from
Scotland, by name, the lord bishop of Glasgow, and David, the lord
bishop of St. Andrew's, who, setting out upon their journey, left
this our land at Advent [2d Dec.], while many lamented at their
departure.
Geoffrey, abbot of Dunfermelin, died ; and Robert, a monk of
the same house, succeeded him.
In this same year the bones of the abbots of Melrose, which had
been deposited at the entrance of the chapter-house, were taken up
and buried with greater solemnity in the eastern part of the said
building. The bones, however, of our venerable father Walleve
were not removed, for when his tomb was opened it was discovered
that his body was reduced to dust: those who were present carried
1 See A.D. 1222, p. 174.
A. D. 1241.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 183
off a few of the smaller bones, and the residue remained in peace.
One of those who was a witness of this was a knight of good repu
tation, called William,1 the son of the earl, the nephew of our lord
the king. By his entreaties he secured one of the teeth, by which
(as he afterwards stated) many sick persons were cured.
A. D. 1 241 . It was reported that numerous miracles were wrought
at the tomb of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury. Walter, the son
of Alan the younger, died.
After having been for a long time deprived of a pastor, the church
of Durham at length received master Nicolas de Farnham as its
bishop: he was a man advanced in years, and had been the queen's
physician ; and thus, from being a physician of the body, he became
a physician of souls.
William, earl of Albemarle, died. Also Gilbert, earl marshal of
England, died, leaving no issue.
William, lord bishop of Glasgow, and David, lord bishop of
St. Andrew's, returned home, in company with the bishops of
France and England, having previously lodged an appeal against
the legates who had been their guides ; for they affirmed that they
could not reach the apostolic see without having incurred the
danger of being killed. Upon their return home, their legates,
along with many others, including several religious persons of high
rank, went back by sea. And since it would be tedious were I to
introduce all the details, I have thought it better to insert here
a copy of the letter which the lord of Citeaux sent to the abbot of
Savigny from the emperor's prison :
" The abbots of Citeaux,2 of Clairvaux,3 and of Pietas Dei [la
Piete Dieu],4 send greeting to the venerable father of Savigni.5
" We have to inform you, that in our anxiety to escape from
danger, we have miserably fallen into the hands of the emperor's
sailors, who first pillaged us, without mercy, of everything we pos
sessed, and then, after having been exposed to many miseries at
sea for a whole week, they triumphantly carried us away, naked
and shoeless as we were, to the city of Pisa, along with two hundred
galleys of which they had plundered the men of Genoa. At this
present time we are suffering a miserable confinement in the castle
of St. Minax, which 'is styled the Emperor's Chamber, and this by
the imperial commands. Our companions the monks and converts
are also in prison at Pisa; they are all safe (thanks be to God's
grace!), with the exception of the notary of the lord abbot of
Citeaux, who was drowned in the sea, while we looked on, but were
unable to render any assistance. There are with us in the same
condemnation, the lord legate, namely, he of Prseneste and
Gregory (these two are kept in chains), the archbishops of Bor
deaux and Mithanensis, the bishops of Cartomog, Agde, Noyon,
1 Probably William, the second son of Patrick, fifth earl of Dunbar; his
mother was Ada, one of the natural daughters of Jdng William. See A.D. 1184.
2 William de Montacute, Gall. Christ, iv. 995.
3 Id. col. 807.
4 No abbey of this title occurs in the Gallia Christiana; the abbot's name was
John, and he afterwards became a cardinal.
3 The name of the abbot of Savigny is unknown. Id. iv. 266»
184 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1241—
Tridom, Hyst, and Pavia, arid the abbots of Clugni and Foigni,1
along with many provosts and archpresbyters, and other men of
importance from every part of the globe, all of whom are in chains
of iron, a fate which we are fully persuaded awaits the whole of us
before long, without any respect of persons. Since, then, we can
send you no intimation as to our release and return, but rather, on
the contrary, since we anticipate a continuance of our abode here,
we have to entreat you that, with all the speed you can employ,
you would send to their respective homes, under safe-conduct, our
retinues, our converts, and all our household establishments,
charging them that they shall make our condition fully known to
our convents, in order that they become all the more careful for the
interests of our order in proportion as they are aware of the danger
to which we are at this time exposed. Do you, then, vouchsafe to
direct that special prayer be offered for us, that we may endure
our present afflictions, and all such future evils as may be in store
for us, with patience and meekness. Our confidence truly is, that
all this present adversity shall be turned to our future prosperity,
and that sweetness shall spring out of the present bitterness. It is
for you, therefore, to employ all care and diligence that the integrity
of the order be preserved, since the Lord has delivered you, as you
perceive, from the extremity of these storms. The lord legate of
England and the archbishop of Rouen, who had at first remained
at Pisa, are now of late removed to [the custody of] other prelates
by the emperor's command. The archbishop of Bisantium is
drowned in the sea ; the abbot of Fecamp, who was in the same
galley with the archbishop of Bisantium, is alive, but a prisoner;
all the Spanish bishops escaped. The lord emperor has in his
prison only three legates, three archbishops, and six bishops ; as for
abbots and proctors, we will not speak of them at present."
The Welshmen,2 who are the descendants of the Britons, (who,
from the time of their first king Brute, have been under the rule of a
native prince, under whom and by whom their causes were decided,)
are now compelled to go to London, there to have their suits deter
mined by the judgment of the English. Thus it has come about
that, according to Merlin's prophecy, " the red dragon" (that is,
the Britons) " is sick in the extremity of the lake," (that is, of
the island,) "being held in subjection by the white dragon" (mean
ing the English).
Christiana Corbet, the wife of William, the son of the earl, died,
and was buried in the chapter-house of Melrose.
Pope Gregory died, on the eleventh of the kalends of September
[22d of Oct.], and about the feast of All Saints [1st Nov.] he was
succeeded by Celestine, who, after occupying the see for about
fifteen days, died. After his decease, the papal chair remained
empty, and the peace of the church was thereby disturbed.
In this same year, the eldest child of our lord Alexander, king of
Scotland, was born at Roxburgh, on the day of the translation of
1 Such of these titles as are not hopelessly corrupted, may be corrected by the
correspondence printed from the register of Pope Gregory, by Raynaldi, A.D.
1241 ; § 57, seq.. 2 See Frcd. i. 240, 241.
A. D. 1243.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 185
St. Cuthbert, the day before the nones of September [Wednes
day, 4th Sept.], being the fourth day of the week, and the child
was named Alexander. He was born in the commencement of the
forty-fourth year of the age of his father ; the twenty -seventh
year of his reign then drawing towards its conclusion.
John de Macheswel was buried at Melrose. William, bishop of
Argyll, was drowned at sea.
A.D. 1242. Master Peter de Alinton, archdeacon of Twidale,
died, and was succeeded by master Reginald de Irewin. Master
Roger, surnamed Niger, bishop of London, died. Hugh de
Patessil died; he was bishop of Chester, or of Coventry, or of
Lichesfield.
Henry, king of England, passed the sea to take possession of his
continental lands. John Cumin, earl of Angus, died in France.
Patrick, earl of Athol, the son of Thomas of Galloway, who was
also the earl of Athol, a most excellent youth, and (as far as man
can judge) adorned with all courtly wisdom and politeness, was
wickedly murdered, — alas ! that we should have to tell it — along
with two of his companions, in his own residence, at Haddington,
after he had gone to rest for the night ; and this was done by some
wicked wretches. To conceal the extent of the crime, the house
in which they were lying was burnt down, that it might appear that
they had perished accidentally in the conflagration, and not by
murder. But He who bringeth to light the hidden things of dark
ness, revealed publicly what these evil persons had done in private,
as will appear in the following narrative. After his death, David de
Hastings took his earldom, which devolved to him in right of his
wife, who was the aunt by the mother's side of the murdered
youth.
William de Somerville was buried at Melrose. The lord Walter
Olifard, justiciary of Lothian, died, and was honourably buried in
the chapter-house of Melrose. Andrew, bishop of Moray, died.
Thunder was audible on the sixteenth of the kalends of January
[16th Dec.].
A.D. 1243. John Biseth, and his uncle Walter, and others their
accomplices were outlawed, because (as fame reported) this John
had murdered Patric de Athol at the instigation of the William
already mentioned.
Master A. de Baggate was buried at Melrose. The lord Gillebert
de Humframville took the countess of Angus to wife.
All the prelates who had been confined in the emperor's prison
were permitted to depart in freedom; they then came to Rome
and presented themselves to the cardinals. They, delighted at the
spectacle, went to Anagnia ; and there upon the morrow of St. John
the baptist [25th June], they elected as pope a presbyter cardinal
named Synebald, by the title of St. Martin in Montibus; and
having consecrated him upon the octaves of St. Peter and St. Paul
[28th June], they styled him Innocent the fourth.
William, abbot of Clairvaux, went the way of all flesh, whilst
he was on his return from the [papal] court, in company with
William, abbot of Citeaux ; for the abbot of Pietas Dei laid aside his
186 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1243—
pastoral charge, and having been detained by the pope, was by him
made a cardinal.
Lord Roger Avenel was buried at Melrose, near his father.
Michael, abbot of Glenluce, was buried at Walcheles, upon the day
of St. Michael [29th Sept.] ; as also Gilbert, lord abbot of Cupre,
who was interred at St. Remigius, on the sixth of the ides of
October [12th Oct.], both of them being on their way home from the
general chapter.
During the Advent of our Lord, William de Binin, prior of
Newbotle, was appointed to the rule of the house of Cupre.
A.D. 1244. William, abbot of Citeaux, refused to exercise the
office of abbot, and was succeeded by . . . . ,l the abbot of Ferte.
Also, Alan Musard of Rievalx, was appointed abbot of Glenluce.
In this same year, pope Innocent came into the land of the king
of France, and remained for some time at Lyons ; and there, upon
the day of the Holy Trinity [29th May], he consecrated, as bishop
of Porto, Otho, who had formerly been legate in England and Scot
land. He had before this appointed as cardinal presbyter, by the
title of St. Laurence in Lucio, John, formerly abbot of Pietas Dei.
During this year, the accursed traitor Walter Biset and his
accomplices ceased not to pour into the ears of Henry, king of
England, the poison of discord, until he summoned his army and
marched as far as Newcastle, against our lord Alexander, the king
of Scotland. The king of Scotland met him at Ponteland with
a large army ; but a treaty of peace was concluded between them,
on the vigil of the Assumption [24th Aug.], chiefly at the instance
of the archbishop of York and of the other nobles. In consequence
of this arrangement the king of Scotland returned home, and the
king of England determined to make an inroad upon Wales; for
the Welsh had rebelled, being unable to endure the yoke of the
English. We must not omit to state that He who is the King of
Glory, determined to elevate the king of Scotland by the gift of
miracles, as we have heard from many.
This year the land of Jerusalem was destroyed, and these letters
reached our lord the pope.
" To our most holy father and lord Innocent, by the grace of
God, the pontiff of the holy see of Rome, Robert, by the same
grace, patriarch of the holy church of Jerusalem, the legate of the
apostolic see, archbishop of Regina in Cyprus and of Bavilla in the
kingdom of Jerusalem, the archbishop of Tyre, R., bishop of
Acres, G., bishop of Sidon, R., bishop of Lidda, to Herman of
Perigord, the master of the knights of the Temple, brother William,
master of the house of the Hospital of St. John, and the preceptor
of the house of St. Mary of the Teutonic knights, Odo de Mont
Beliard, the lord of Tiberias, and the constable of the king of
Jerusalem, Philip de Montfort, lord of Teron, desire to kiss your
blessed feet, offering their eternal subjection.
' We are persuaded that your holiness has not lost sight of the
account which we forwarded to you through our patriarch, concern -
1 Blank in the MS., but the abbot's name was Boniface; Gall. Christ, iv. 995.
A. D. 1244.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 187
ing the miserable condition of the Holy Land, and the afflictions
which have befallen it of late from the sudden and unexpected
arrival of the Corosmins. But since there exists at this present
time a more than usual necessity for making you acquainted with
the scourge which, for our faults, the Lord hath been pleased to
bring upon the Holy Land, we are constrained with one consent to
inform you (since you are placed in the watch-tower of the Lord,
above the other watchmen, and because you have the daily care of
all the churches) — we repeat that we are constrained to inform you
of the groans of the church of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the
Christian people, and the danger of the Holy Land. We cannot,
therefore, conceal from your holiness that these Corosmins, whose
cruelty exceeds the fierceness of wild beasts, at the very commence
ment of their arrival took possession of the greater part of the
province of Jerusalem, namely, from ' Nirone militum/ (which is
eight miles distant from Jerusalem,) as far as the parts of Ascalon
and Gaza, and still keep it in their possession. An unforeseen fear
and trembling laid hold upon the hearts of the Christian population
upon their arrival ; for they were aware that these people were in the
habit of inflicting upon them every species of cruelty, and thirsted
for their blood. They were expelled from their own native soil by
the power of the Tartars; and having no other place of residence,
they advanced upon this which we have mentioned, at the com
mand of the soldan of Babylon, who is reported to have given them
the districts which are inhabited by the Christians. Nor is it their
intention simply to devastate the land and then depart, but they
have come to take possession of it and inhabit it as their own, with
their wives and families, intending to claim its dwellings and in
habitations as their property; unless the power of the Almighty resist
them, and the apostolic see extend its protecting hand against
them. For the soldan, whom we have mentioned, the head of this
sacrilegious body, protects and defends them, and supports them by
ample pay and costly gifts; for he believes that by them he will
subjugate the king of Damascus and the Christian people ; yet this
soldan does not venture out of Babylon, nor are they permitted to
enter within the land of Babylon; for he holds them in suspicion
in consequence of their power and faithlessness.
" Now, although this calamity occasioned by the Corosmins is in
itself sufficient to distress, more than enough, the minds of all men,
another grief has originated by the arrival of the Tartars, a count
less army of whom has terrified and smitten the whole of the east.
Passing over the ' Aquse Frigidee,' they have penetrated as far as
the ' Pons Ferreus/ near Antioch, devastating everything, like a
countless swarm of locusts. God's goodness provided, however,
that the soldans of Damascus and Aleppo and Camella entered
into a treaty with them for a given time, (at a considerable outlay,
indeed,) and so they have returned to the distant regions whence
they came. The anxiety which we and the whole Christian popu
lation experienced, on the approach of this people, has subsided
upon their departure. Our whole care is how we shall escape the
sword of the Corosmins which is hanging over us ; so we labour
188 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1244.
without ceasing to procure their expulsion, and shall continue so
to do ; and although we have earnestly exhorted the illustrious king
of Cyprus and the prince of Antioch to render assistance to the
Holy Land, yet from the former we have had no aid whatever,
and the latter, apprehensive of the return of the Tartars, has been
prodigal in his excuses.
" There are in the Holy Land a very limited number of foreign
knights and foot-soldiers, the whole collective amount of whom
would scarce reach a hundred. The knights who belong to the
district are scattered far and wide, occupied in the garrisoning of
the castles, so that they cannot be readily called together, since they
may not leave the fortresses unprotected; and it has been decided
by the general opinion of the whole land, that it would not be
advisable to attack these wretches, or even to engage with them. It
would be very hazardous for so few men to meet such a large and
powerful body, especially as they have been reinforced, since
their first arrival, by an accession of troops from the same nation :
so large that report represents them equal in number to the first
body of invaders. It is confidently stated that there are no less
than twelve thousand lightly equipped men-at-arms, exclusive of
others of less account, their wives and families.
" It was agreed, therefore, by common consent, to invoke the
assistance of the soldans of Damascus and Camella, who are
associated with the Christians by truce and treaty, and have a
deadly feud with the Corosmins. After many solicitations these
soldans promised that they would come to help the Christians with
all their strength ; but their arrival has been unexpectedly delayed
from day to day, to the disappointment of every one, for without
their co-operation it would be dangerous for the Christians to hazard
a battle.
" In the meantime the inhabitants of Jerusalem, being hemmed in
on every side by their enemies, and afflicted within by hunger, with
out by the sword, were oppressed with many terrors and dangers ;
arid we were in the hope from day to day of rendering them assist
ance by collecting an army. But the faithless Corosmins invaded
Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered that city upon
Monday, the eleventh of July. The Christian inhabitants thereupon
took refuge in the hospitals and in the churches of Jerusalem, which
were close at hand ; and defending themselves within the wooden
fortresses and the stone turrets, they gained the victory that day
(by the mercy of Jesus Christ) over these wicked ones, and slew
many of them. But, finding themselves unable to carry out their
intentions, they withdrew in confusion, and unexpectedly stormed
the church of St. James, belonging to the Armenians, who resided
within the same city and took it, and slew with the edge of the
sword many Armenians whom they found within that church —
priests, clergy, and laity; and they beheaded the imperial governor
of the castle and the preceptor of the hospital of St. John, who
had bravely gone out against them to battle. Having been re
pulsed from the city upon this occasion, they withdrew to some
buildings which they had erected in the outskirts. Urged by the
A.D. 1244.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 189
extremity of this their necessity, the inhabitants of Jerusalem most
earnestly required assistance from us, and very frequently sent
letters and messages to us and other Christians to that effect; but
we could by no means furnish them with the aid which they
required ; for the whole district was surrounded by the enemy, nor
was there any means of obtaining access to the city save by passing
through the army of the Corosmins. So we were partakers in their
affliction, and our hearts were embittered by their sorrows. Earn
estly intent upon rendering them assistance, we agreed, by common
consent, that a message should be sent to the soldan of the Vallies,
(who lately had entered into a truce with some of the Christians,)
requesting that by his help the people already mentioned might
have a secure and safe passage to the land of the Christians. Along
with our letters we sent to the said soldan influential messengers,
whom we enjoined, that after they had heard his answer they should
obtain his safe-conduct for the admission into Jerusalem of friar
Simon, of the order of the Preachers, to strengthen the hearts of the
Christian population, and that, while he was stating to them the
answer of the soldan, he should carefully note the condition of the
land and the people, and should inform us on all these particulars.
" Thus, then, the messengers whom we have mentioned went to
the soldan, and urgently entreated him for the safe -conduct, and
received from him for answer that he would most willingly give
them the means of admission into Jerusalem, but that he could
not do this without the consent of the Corosmins. He promised
faithfully, however, that he would send a formal embassy to the
Corosmins, whom (he said) he would induce by entreaties and pre
sents to suffer the Christian population to come in safety, he
himself giving security for the conduct of the soldan. This same
friar Simon, leaving behind him all the other messengers, accom
panied the soldan (under his safe-conduct) into Jerusalem, as we
had commanded. He assembled the whole population, and having
preached to them the word of God, he comforted them exceed
ingly, and exhorted them, and gave them absolution, as the patriarch
had been enjoined by us ; and he communicated to them the
answer which he had received from the soldan by other messengers.
After a council of deliberation had been held, the people of Jeru
salem answered, that they would rather die within the city by
famine and pestilence than trust themselves to those most cruel
heathen, or deliver themselves into the hands of the soldan, of
whose want of faith they were certain and could have no manner of
doubt; but that their firm resolution was to remain within the city,
and there to await the mercy of Jesus Christ and succour. In
investigating the condition of the country, friar Simon discovered
that they had food sufficient to last them for six weeks.
" Having heard their answer, he strictly prohibited any one from
privately leaving the city without a general safe-conduct ; he bade
them hope in the mercy of the Highest, and defend themselves like
men, and await the arrival of the Christian army. He then left the
city, and, visiting the soldan on his way back, obtained his safe-
conduct, and came to us with the intelligence which we have stated.
190 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1244.
" On the third day after his return, and at the ninth hour, we
were assured that a large body of the men-at-arms had left the city
during the night, without having consulted the rest, or informed
them of their intention, and unfortunately had reached Joppa.
While we were lamenting about the stealthy departure of these
people, and were no little disturbed therewith, thinking upon the
division and loss which it would occasion to the remainder of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, we shortly afterwards heard evil and
lamentable tidings respecting them. ^ For they (being apprehensive
of a return of the Corosmins), leaving behind them such of their
number as would not abandon the city, upon Tuesday, being the
eve of St. Bartholomew [23d Aug.], about the hour of vespers, by
common consent, went out of the city, clerks and monks, and the
laity of both sexes, resolving to advance through the mountainous dis
tricts until they reached the land of the Christians. They depended
upon the truce into which they had entered with these Saracens in
the mountains ; and they hoped, by adopting this route, to escape
all danger from the Corosmins. But while they thought they were
escaping from Scylla, they miserably fell into Charybdis. For these
faithless Saracens came down from the hills upon them with an
unexpected assault, and attacked them the whole night long : they
killed (as it is reported) more than two thousand of them, pouring
out their guiltless blood round about Jerusalem, and there was no
man to bury them. The boys and the girls they carried off captives
— they did not spare the aged ; such of the aforesaid people as they
did not choose to kill, they brought into a miserable slavery, selling
them to the other Saracens. Moreover, the few of that people who
escaped from the hands of these Saracens, and reached the plain or
Ramessa, were there overtaken by death and the sword from another
quarter. For the Corosmins assailed them as enemies, and slew
them cruelly; and so great was the loss between the killed and the
captured, that of the whole number scarce three hundred reached
Joppa in disorder, and these were wounded and half-dead.
" Since, therefore, their innocent blood crieth to the Lord from
the ground, may it be presented also before your blessed presence,
so as to excite in you compassion and pity. Thus the prophecy oJJ
Jeremiah is fulfilled upon Jerusalem : ' Servants have ruled over
us, .... the joy of our heart is ceased ; our dance is turned intc
mourning.' (Lam. v. 8, 15.)
" We grieve to relate still further, that, after having committed
this slaughter, the perfidious Corosmins entered the city of Jeru
salem, no one offering any resistance ; for now she stood deserted
having been abandoned by the larger part of her population. The\
broke into the church of the sepulchre of the Lord — the spot ir
which our Lord Jesus Christ poured forth his precious blood, wher
hanging upon the cross, for the salvation of mankind, — and the)
miserably slaughtered with the edge of the sword the Christiana
who had taken refuge therein, that they might there endure mar
tyrdom for Christ, thus staining the whole pavement with the blooc
of the martyrs. It is unnecessary to proceed. The priests who
were celebrating at the altars of the church were beheaded by these
A.D. 1244.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 191
infidels, even while performing the holy mysteries, and thus offered
themselves up as a sacrifice to God the Father. Oh happy spirit of
master Peter de Montronda, canon of Reims and Sens, who fol
lowed the Lord, carrying his cross ; for as they were celebrating in
the church of the Holy Sepulchre, he offered himself a sacrifice to
Jesus Christ, having been slain by the unbelievers on the very spot
where the Son of God had offered himself as a victim to God !
" The boundless filthiness and cruelty of this infidel race sur
pass the wickedness of all others of the Saracens ; for the latter,
during the times they have held possession of Jerusalem, showed
some respect to the lives of the Greeks, Armenians, and Jacobites,
and other inhabitants who were Christians, even although they kept
them in a state of slavery; for they permitted them in peace to
celebrate the divine mysteries within, and to have the custody of
the church of the Sepulchre, and the other holy places. But the
most perfidious Corosmins spared neither religious person, sex, nor
age ; and to the best of their ability they profaned the holy places,
nor did they leave a single Christian within the city. They stripped
the covering of lead from off the roof of the church of the Sepul
chre; nay more, stretching out their sacrilegious hands upon the
marble entablature which everywhere surrounds the Lord's Sepul
chre, they threw it entirely down ; and the very place in which our
Lord was buried they abundantly defiled, as far as they were able.
No one can remember that the Saracens ever perpetrated such
abominations as these have done.
" Going up to the church of Bethlehem, it is said that they
violated it in many ways ; for they shamefully abused the holiest
places, that is to say, Mount Sion, the Temple of the Lord, and the
other venerated places within the city of Jerusalem. And so mur
derers now dwell within the beautiful city, which was the joy of the
whole earth, in which justice once abode ; for the crimes of the
Christians demanded this. And the offering and the sacrifice have
ceased ; for they have taken away the daily sacrifice,1 and the place
of the sanctuary they have cast down ; they have polluted the place
of the tabernacle of his Name, in despite and contempt of the
name of Christ.
" We have further to acquaint you, O holy father, that to such
a height of audacity and pride have they risen, that they have
extended themselves over the whole country, and everywhere per
petrate excesses. They did not stop short at Tiberias and the
neighbourhood, but carried sword and fire as far as Acre, thus
ravaging a district of seven miles. The parts beyond the sea are in
greater danger and necessity than they are remembered to have
been for the last hundred years.
" Therefore let the pitiful groans of the Holy Land enter into
the ears of the vicar of Christ; hear the lamentations of the
church of Jerusalem, and the revilings of those who revile the
Christian religion. Let there go out from the Church of Rome a
sharp two-edged sword to avenge the innocent blood ; let conso
lation for the desolate be dispensed out of her treasures. Let the
1 See Dan. viii. 11.
192 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1244—
word of exhortation proceed out of her lips, calling upon all the
kings and princes of the world to avenge the injury offered to
Jesus Christ, by whom they live and reign ; and let such speedy
succour as your holiness shall think fit to appoint be rendered to
this land, in order to wipe out the insults inflicted upon the
people.
" Dated at Acre, upon the day of St. Matthew [21st Sept.],
A.D. 1244."
" Th. the humble arch of Ciren l to John
and Andrew, the religious men in Christ who are beyond the sea.
" We refer you to the prior of the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem for some rumours from beyond the sea, which we must
describe as being lamentable, miserable, terrible, horrible, and
damnable. He is the bearer of letters to the most Christian
king of France, written, not with ink, but with blood (so it is said,
for I have not seen them), but they who have seen them declare that
the letters are red. The outline is this : that the master of the
Hospital of St. Mary of the Teutonic knights and all his convent
(saving a few who escaped), and the whole knighthood which is
beyond the sea, a large share of the armed Christian population,
and along with them Narcissus, soldan of Turkey, and another
soldan, who was captured by the Corosmins and the men of the
soldan of Babylon, were all killed upon the seventeenth of Oc
tober. It is reported, moreover, that earl William and lord Philip
were captured. The lord patriarch and the constable escaped.
Here is cause for grief and lamentation."
A.D. 1245. Hugh, abbot of St. Servanus, died, a man of a
thoroughly commendable life, and one zealous for the holy religion.
He was succeeded in the pastoral government by a monk of the
same house, by name Matthew, upon the fifth of the ides of March
[llth March]. In the Advent2 of the same year pope Innocent
the fourth came into the land of the king of France. In this same
year Louis, the illustrious and most Christian king of the French,
the beloved of God, was seized with a grievous illness (the provi
dence of God, who rules and disposes everything, so decreeing it)
within the city of Paris. The sickness increasing in severity, and
life appearing to be nearly extinct, it appeared to the bystanders
that he had paid the penalty of death. When he had laid upon
the bed of sorrow, and no sign of vitality had appeared in him for
full three days, to the astonishment of all who were present, he
suddenly raised his eyes to heaven, and with a loud voice he blessed
the name of the Almighty God. Having summoned the bishop
of Paris, he directed that the sign of the cross should be fixed by
him upon his shoulder, since it was his intention to set out upon
an expedition for the purpose of magnifying the Name of Jesus
Christ, and extending the glory of the cross, wheresoever the holy
church might be pleased to direct. The bishop, with due devo-
1 The name of the writer of this letter is by no means clear; it stands thus in
the original MS. ..." Th. humilis arch. Ciren. &c. . . ."
2 Advent Sunday fell upon 3d December.
A. D. 1245.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 193
lion, executed the holy wishes of the good king, who immediately
recovered from his sickness.
At the same time that most wicked emperor, Frederick, when
he heard of the sickness of the king, and that he had assumed the
cross, sent him these letters, with a fraudulent intention, as it is
believed: —
" Frederick, by the grace of God, the emperor of the Romans,
and perpetual Augustus, the king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to
Louis, by the grace of God the illustrious king of the French,
sends greeting, and the affection of a sincere love.
" There has reached our ears a report which has occasioned us
much sorrow, a report which tells us that your majesty has fallen
into a grievous sickness through the weakness of the flesh.' This
sorrow, however, was turned into rejoicing, and our pain into
pleasure, when the intelligence of your restoration to health arrived,
telling us that the right hand of God's power, who pitieth and
maketh whole, had delivered you from the very gates of death. It
proceeds from the same influence, and springs from the same
depth of the counsels of the Lord, (the necessity of the times so
requiring it,) that a new champion has been raised up by God to
meet the growing insolence of the heathen, and to check the
slaughter inflicted from time to time upon our religion — one who
shall do his best to revenge the enormous injury perpetrated upon
it, when he shall have assumed the banner of the cross of our God,
to which we chiefly look as the strength of our faith. Your sick
ness, therefore, cannot but be regarded as a blessing, when we
consider its results, though in itself it was a calamity; and thus
the sorrow which it occasioned has been turned into an abundant
cause for rejoicing. The general import of my meaning is this,
that by the happy expedition which your majesty is about to
undertake to the land of our Lord, our honour shall receive an
increase, and the disgrace inflicted upon our faith shall be wiped
out, when that region is delivered by the power of France from the
swords of our Saracen enemies." l
" Innocent the bishop, the servant of the servants of God, in
the presence of this sacred council, and as a continued memorial
of the event.
" Since we, all unworthy as we are, have been raised to the
summit of the apostolic dignity by God's wisdom, it is our duty
to give careful heed to the welfare of all Christians, and with the
eye of a deep scrutiny to distinguish the deserts of each person,
and to weigh them in the balance of a careful deliberation. Thus
we may exalt to due honour such as the stringency of a close
examination pronounces to be worthy of the favour; and if any be
guilty, that we may punish them according to their deserts ; weigh
ing always punishment and reward in a just scale, and awarding to
1 The conclusion of the letter is wanting, as is also the commencement of the
next document, which is here supplied from another copy contained in M. Paris,
p. 668.
VOL. IV. O
194 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1245—
each several individual the censure or the favour proportionate to
the quality of his work.
" Now, since hostile disturbances have long afflicted some provinces
which have embraced Christianity, we, in our hearty desire for the
tranquillity and peace of the holy church of God to all Christian
people collectively, have thought it advisable to despatch special
messengers, men of great authority, to that secular prince who is
the chief originator of this discord and tribulation, and who, in con
sequence of his excesses, had been placed under the bond of excom
munication by our predecessor of holy memory, pope Gregory;
we have sent (we repeat) upon this mission P[eter] of Albano,
then archbishop of Rouen, William, then bishop of Sabina, but
formerly bishop of Modena, and our beloved son W., priest-
cardinal of the church of the Twelve Apostles, and at that time
abbot of St. Fecundus, all of whom were jealous for his welfare.
We caused it to be intimated to him by them, that we and our
brethren, as far as in us lay, were desirous of being at peace with
him on every point, as indeed we wished to be with all men, and
that we were prepared to extend that same peace and quiet to him
and to the whole world. And since it would considerably tend to
the accomplishment of this unity if he would restore to liberty
those prelates, clerks, and all others whom he was keeping in prison,
and also all the clerks and laymen whom he had captured in the
galleys, we caused the same messengers to make a request and
petition to him for their liberation, the more especially as he him
self, and his messengers for him, had promised to our said prede
cessor that he would do this thing before we were called to the
apostolic see. Moreover, we stated that the same messengers
were prepared, on our part, to hear his terms, and to treat of
peace, and also to listen to any offer of satisfaction which he, the
chief person of all those for whose behalf he had incurred the
sentence of excommunication, might be inclined to propose.
Besides all this, they were instructed to suggest, that if the church
had undeservedly injured him in any particular, (which, however,
she did not believe to be the case,) she was prepared to make
atonement, and to place the matter upon its true and proper foot
ing. And should he affirm that the church, or we ourselves in
particular, had injured him in any point, then we were ready to
summon to meet at any secure place, kings, prelates, and princes,
as well ecclesiastics as seculars, either to attend personally, or by
other their special messengers ; and that the church was prepared
to do him justice according to the decision of the assembly, to
make satisfaction as to any point upon which he might have expe
rienced damage, and to revoke whatever sentence had been wrong
fully pronounced against him ; and with all gentleness and mercy
(as far as was consistent with the honour due to God and himself),
to receive from him satisfaction for such injuries and offences as he
had inflicted upon the church and his own people ; and that it
was the desire of the church that all his friends and adherents
should have such full peace and security, as that they might never
hereafter incur any danger on this account.
A.D. 1245.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 195
" But although we took care thus gently to deal with him respect
ing peace, by our paternal admonitions and entreaties, he still
imitated the hardness of heart of Pharaoh ; and stopping his ears like
a deaf adder, he despised these our prayers and entreaties in his
mingled obstinacy and pride. And although afterwards, that is to
say, upon the Holy Thursday last past, he made a solemn oath,
(before us and our brethren, in the presence of our most beloved
son in Christ, the illustrious emperor of Constantinople, and a
large assemblage of prelates, and the senators and people of Rome,
and a great multitude of others, who had congregated from various
parts of the world, at the apostolic see upon that day, in conse
quence of the solemnity which attaches to it,) by the noble count
of Toulouse and masters Peter de Vinea and Thaddeus de Suessa,
the judges of his court, who were his messengers and proctors, and
had a special order to this effect, that he would abide by our com
mands and those of the church, yet afterwards he did not fulfil
what he had sworn to. Nay, rather, the probability is (as his subse-
sequent actions seem to warrant us in believing), that he made
that oath rather for the purpose of deceiving us and the church
than of obeying ; for although a year and more have now elapsed,
he would neither suffer himself to be recalled to the bosom of the
church, nor has he taken care to make satisfaction to her for the
wrongs and injuries which he had inflicted, although he has been
reminded of his duty. Since, then, we are unable any longer to
tolerate his iniquities without doing grievous offence to Christ, our
conscience constrains us to mark him with our disapprobation.
" Passing over, for the present, his other crimes, he has com
mitted four most grievous sins, which no cunning can hide. He
is deeply perjured. He has rashly violated the peace formerly esta
blished between the church and the empire. He has also com
mitted sacrilege in procuring the capture of the cardinals of the
holy Roman church, and of the prelates of other churches, and of
such clerks and seculars as were on their way to the council which
had been summoned in his wisdom by our predecessor. Further
more, he is suspected of heresy, and that by no doubtful and light
arguments, but by weighty and evident proofs.
That he has committed many perjuries is sufficiently evident.
For while he was resident in Sicily some time ago, before he had
been elected to the imperial dignity, he made oath of fealty to our
predecessor of happy memory, pope Innocent, and to his successors,
and to the church of Rome, in consequence of the grant of the
kingdom of Sicily made to him by the said church ; and this he did
in the presence of G. of good memory, the cardinal -deacon of St.
Theodore, the legate of the apostolic see. It is further stated that
when he was elected to that same dignity, he came to the city [of
Rome] and renewed that same oath, in the presence of the said
Innocent and his brethren [the cardinals] and many others, doing
to him his legal homage. Besides, while he was in Germany, he
swore in the presence of the princes and nobles of the empire,
that he would, to the best of his power, keep and protect, in good
faith, the honours, rights, and possessions of the church of Rome,
o 2
196 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1245—
for the said I[nnocent], and on his death for pope Honorius of
good memory, and his successors, and also for that same Roman
church ; and that he would take care to restore without difficulty
what things soever should come into his hands, specifying in the
oath the said possessions ; and this he afterwards confirmed when
he had obtained the imperial crown. These three several oaths,
however, he has rashly broken, not without having incurred the
brand of treachery and treason. For he has ventured to send
threatening letters to the cardinals against our said predecessor
G[regory], and against themselves ; and, as appears by the same
letters then sent by him, by many ways to slander the said
G[regory] to the cardinals, as is also reported throughout the whole
world. He has caused to be arrested our venerable brother O[tho],
bishop of Porto, then cardinal-deacon of St. Nicolas " in Carcere
Tuliano," and the bishop of Preneste, of good memory, both of
whom were legates of the apostolic see, and important members
of the church of Rome ; and after having despoiled them of all
their goods, he committed them to prison, having previously
dragged them about, in ignominy, from place to place. He has
also done his best to contract, or even entirely to abolish from the
church, the privilege with which our Lord Jesus Christ Himself
invested the blessed Peter and his successors, when He said to him,
' Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven' [Matt. xvi. 19.], on which depend the power and autho
rity of the church of Rome ; for he wrote that he did not fear the
sentences of the said G[regory], and that not only would he despise
the excommunication pronounced against him, (disregarding herein
the keys of the church,) but farther, that he, by his officials, would
not permit others to give any weight to this, or any other sentence
of excommunication or interdict. He has not scrupled to lay
hands upon the possessions of the church of Rome, namely, the
march land, the duchy of Benevento, (the towers and walls of
which city he has caused to be destroyed,) and other property which
she held elsewhere in Tuscany and Lombardy, with a few excep
tions ; and these he still holds in possession.
" And as if it were not sufficient for him thus openly to violate
his oaths, he and his officials have compelled others, the inhabitants
of these districts, to commit perjury, absolving them de facto
(since de jure that is impossible) from the oaths of fealty by which
they are bound to the church of Rome, and making them abjure
that fealty which they had formerly given, and transfer the same
to himself. It is notorious that he is a violator of the peace ; for
formerly during the time of peace between the church and him
self, he made oath before J. de Abbeville, bishop of Sabina, and
master Thomasius, presbyter- cardinal, by the title of St. Sabina, in
the presence of many prelates princes, and barons, that he would
stand by and submit to all the commands of the church, simply
and without gainsaying, in every matter respecting which he had
incurred the penalty of excommunication, the causes of which
excommunication were severally specified in his presence ; and
A.D. 1245.] .r: CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 197
although he also at the same time made oath, upon his own soul;
through N. count of Acerra, that he would withdraw all dis
pleasure and penalty from all the people of Germany, from those
of the kingdom of Sicily, and from all others who had taken part
with the church against himself, and that he would at no time
attack them, or cause them to be attacked ; yet afterwards he did
not feel ashamed to break this promise of peace and these .oaths
which he had thus made. For he caused some of those very per
sons, as well noblemen as others, to be afterwards apprehended ;
and having plundered them of their goods, he led captive their
wives and children. He irreverently invaded the lands of the church,
contrary to the promise by him to the said J., bishop of Sabina,
and cardinal Thomasius, although they had already pronounced
sentence of excommunication against him in his presence, if he
should transgress in this respect : and when these same individuals
had enjoined him by the apostolic authority that no impediment
should arise, either from himself or others, in the freedom of postu-
lation, election, and confirmation for the churches and monasteries
in the kingdom aforesaid, according to the decrees of the general
council, and that henceforth no ecclesiastic within the kingdom
should be treated as a layman, and that due satisfaction should be
made to the Templars, Hospitallers, and other ecclesiastical persons,
for the injuries and losses inflicted upon them, this command he
despised and neglected to fulfil. It is notorious, also, that there are
vacant in the said kingdom more than eleven archiepiscopal sees,
many bishoprics, and many abbeys and other churches ; and that
by his means, as is plainly apparent, his subjects have been de
prived of the rule of their prelates, to their great prejudice, and to
the peril of souls. And although it may happen that some elections
are made by chapters in some of the churches in that kingdom, yet
since by them clerks from among their own body have been elected,
it may hence be fairly concluded that they have enjoyed no free
power of election. Not only has he caused the possessions and
goods of the churches of his kingdom to be seized at his pleasure,
but further, like a despiser of God's service, he has carried off the
crosses, chalices, censers, and other treasures and silken cloths ;
although (as it is stated) he has made a partial restitution upon the
payment of a fixed price.
" The clerks, too, are afflicted in many ways by collections and
taxes. Not only are they dragged before the secular tribunal, but,
as is reported, they are compelled to fight duels; they are im
prisoned, are executed, and are hanged, to the dismay and contempt
of the clerical order. No satisfaction has been made to these
Templars, Hospitallers, and other ecclesiastical persons, for the
losses and injuries which have been thus inflicted.
" It is certain, also, that he is a perpetrator of sacrilege. For
when the said bishops of Portua and Preneste, and the bishops
and clerks of many churches, as well religious men as seculars,
were on their way by sea — for he had directed that all access by
land should be hindered — to celebrate a council at Rome (which he
himself had previously requested might be convoked), he sent his
198 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1245—
son Enzio thither with a large fleet of galleys. He lay in wait for
them with these vessels, and several others which he had col
lected on the coasts of Tuscany. He was so sacrilegiously bold, that
he caused them to be seized, in order that thus he might spit out
all the more furiously the venom of his heart; during which
seizure some of the prelates and others were drowned, others
killed, and others put to flight, as if they were enemies who ought
to be persecuted ; while the remainder were plundered of all their
property, ignominiously dragged about from place to place within
the kingdom of Sicily, and then committed to a cruel imprison
ment, during which they miserably perished, worn out by filth and
hunger.
" Moreover, there is just cause to accuse him of heretical pravity.
For after he had incurred the sentence of excommunication, pro
nounced against him by the said J., bishop of Sabina, and car
dinal Thomas and the said pope Gregory had subjected him to an
anathema, and after the capture of the cardinals, prelates and
clerks, and others also, at various times, when on their way to the
apostolic see, — he despised, and still despises, the keys of the
church, causing divine service to be performed, or rather (as far as
he is concerned) profaned ; and stubbornly affirming, as we have
before mentioned, that he does not dread the sentences of the said
Gregory. Moreover, he is associated in an accursed friendship
with the Saracens, and has often despatched messengers and
gifts to them, and received the same from them in return with
honour and distinction; he embraces their religious rites, keeps
them in daily attendance upon himself, and, following their
custom, he is not ashamed to appoint as guards over his wives (who
are the descendants of a kingly family) especially such of them as
he is said to have emasculated of late. And something yet more
accursed ; when he was in the parts beyond the sea, some time
ago, he permitted the name of Mahomet to be publicly proclaimed
night and day in the temple of the Lord, in consequence of an
agreement, or rather a fraud, which he had entered into with the
soldan ; and now of late, he has caused the ambassadors of the
soldan of Babylon to be honourably received (as is reported), and
sumptuously entertained throughout the kingdom of Sicily, sounding
the praises of the soldan ; and this after this same soldan, personally
and by others, had caused most grievous and incalculable injuries
to be inflicted upon the Holy Land, and the Christians therein
resident.
" Turning to an evil account against the faithful the dangerous
and mischievous assistance of other misbelievers, and causing
himself to become the companion and the friend of such as,
despising the apostolic see to their own condemnation, have
departed from the unity of the church, he, casting aside the
Christian religion, as is affirmed for a certainty, caused the duke
of Bavaria, of illustrious memory, the special friend of the church
of Rome, to be slain by the Assassins, and gave his daughter in
marriage to Bacharius, an enemy to God and the church, who had
been solemnly severed, by the sentence of excommunication, from
A.-D. 1245.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 199
the communion of the faithful, along with all who rendered him
aid, counsel, and protection. Rejecting the habits and usages of
Catholic princes, and being a despiser of holiness and good repu
tation, he gives no heed to works of piety ; on the contrary (to be
silent about his notorious profligacies), although he has learnt to
play the oppressor, he takes no care mercifully to relieve the
oppressed ; nor does he extend his hand in almsgiving, as becomes
a prince, although he has been active in the destruction of churches,
and has worn out, by long- continued persecution, religious persons
and other ecclesiastics ; nor has he given any evidence that he has
erected churches, or monasteries, or hospitals, or any other pious
foundations. These are no trifling grounds for suspecting him of
heresy — nay, they are cogent arguments, since the civil law pro
nounces that those persons are to be included under the definition
'of heretics (and as such ought to incur its penalties), who are dis
covered in having departed in the slightest point from the judgment
and rule of the Catholic religion.
" Besides this, he has reduced the kingdom of Sicily, which he
the said prince holds in fee from the apostolic see, to such a degree
of exhaustion and bondage, as well in its clergy as its laity (although
it is the special patrimony of the blessed Peter), that he has ex
pelled them from thence, reduced nearly to a state of complete
beggary, and loaded with insults; and such as remain there are
constrained by him to live in the condition of slaves, and in many
ways to assail and attack in hostile manner the church of Rome,
of which they are for the most part the subjects and the vassals.
This also is a fitting subject for blame, that for nine years and more
he has neglected to pay an annual pension of one thousand sequins,
in which sum he is bound to the said church of Rome for that
same kingdom.
" We, therefore, having taken due deliberation beforehand with
our brethren [the cardinals] and the holy council, respecting the
premises and very many of his other wicked excesses, since, all
unworthy as we are, we represent upon earth the jurisdiction of
Jesus Christ, and it has been said to us, in the person of the
blessed Peter, ' Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven' [Matt. xvi. 19], we, from the Lord, do
hereby declare, denounce, and by sentence depose, the said prince,
who has shown himself so unworthy of his empire, his kingdom,
and all his honours, and who is rejected of God, and tied and
bound in the chain of his sins, on account of his iniquities, so that
he shall be neither emperor nor king. We entirely absolve the
citizens from the oath of fidelity, as also all those persons who are
bound to him by such oath; and by our apostolic authority we firmly
enjoin, that henceforth no one shall obey him, or regard him as
emperor or king ; and we decree, that any persons who shall hence
forth give him counsel, assistance, or favour, shall, ipso facto, incur
the penalty of excommunication ; and that those persons in the
empire to whom belongs the privilege of electing an emperor, may
lawfully choose a successor. And as for the kingdom of Sicily,
200 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1245—
we, with the counsel of our brother cardinals, will take care to
make provision for it as we shall see fitting.
" Dated at Lyons, on the sixteenth of the kalends of August
[17th July], in the third year of our pontificate."
" Frederick, by the grace of God, the emperor of the Romans,
and perpetual Augustus, the king of Jerusalem and Sicily, wishes
health and every good thing to the prelates of the churches, barons,
nobles, and all persons throughout the realm of England, to whom
the present letters may be shown.
" Although we are persuaded that the justice of our cause has
been already made known to you, as well by common report as by
the truthful testimony of the royal messengers, yet since informa
tion communicated through the ears makes a less powerful im
pression on the mind than that which reaches it through the
evidence of the eyes, we present to your inspection a clear, and
true, and open account of the proceedings which the popes have
hitherto instituted against us. We hope that your affection will
not grudge us the time which may be necessary for this purpose,
considering that we have given up so many days to your interests.
If, then, you will be pleased diligently to give heed to the matters
which affect the interests of kings, you will do well to inquire how
far there is in our ecclesiastical superiors any zeal for justice, and
whether it is right that, when they weary us with so many and so
great injuries, we ought to be denied (as we still are denied) the
opportunity of offering a defence thereto ; and further, ask whe
ther the vicars of Christ are his representatives, and whether the
successors of St. Peter are following the example of their pre
decessor ; and lastly, inquire by what law the process thus insti
tuted against us can be considered valid, or by what name it ought
to be designated. Can an incompetent judge pronounce a com
petent sentence ? Now, although we, as is fitting, most openly
confess that we hold (along with the Catholic faith) that the full
plenitude of power in spiritual matters was granted by the Lord to
the bishop of the holy see of Rome, even although he be a sinner
(which God forbid), so that whatsoever he shall bind in earth shall
be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven ; yet we have nowhere read that he has any
grant, by either divine or human law, whereby he at his pleasure
can translate kingdoms, or punish kings, or adjudge respecting the
lands of princes. Admitting that our consecration appertains to
him, according to the right and usage of our ancestors, yet the
power of deprivation or removal no more belongs to him than to
any other prelate, who may consecrate or anoint any other of the
bishops or kings of other realms. Be it granted that he has such
power as this, but is it by the plenitude of this power that he can
punish any one whom he asserts to be under his jurisdiction,
without observing any of the forms of justice ? For he has of late
proceeded against us (as is asserted), not by the form of an accu
sation, for no fitting accuser appeared, nor did any accusation issue ;
nor by denunciation, for no lawful summoner was present ; nor by
A.D. 1245.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 201
mode of inquiry, for no complaint had been made, nor had any
copy of the ecclesiastical matters to be inquired into been served
upon us (if indeed there were any), when no persons were publicly
produced by the judge.
" He states generally that all these matters are notorious ; we as
generally deny them, and there is no proof made by lawful wit
nesses that they are so. Were it permitted to every judge thus
to become the accuser, by declaring that the crime was notorious,
each judge might condemn each criminal without regard to law.
False witnesses rose up against us (as it is said) in the council, but
these were very few ; and one of these, the bishop of Galia, was
our enemy upon notorious grounds, because we had lawfully con
demned to the gallows his brother and nephew for treason ; his
evidence therefore is inadmissible. Some of the others came from
the furthest corners of Spain ; the bishops of Terrogona and
Compostella, who from their great distance from Italy are unac
quainted with its affairs, and they having been suborned, cannot
lawfully be accepted as evidence for our condemnation. But even
if they were ; admitting that there are present these parties, the
witnesses, the prosecutor, and the judge, one more is wanting, the
criminal who is to be condemned ; and he must either be present,
or absent by contumacy, if he is to be lawfully condemned. For
(as we have heard) we were cited, though informally, when he [the
pope] was preaching at Lyons ; for when we were cited, no mention
was made of other matters or persons whatever ; and we ought to
have appeared either by ourselves or our fitting attorneys, if justice
were to be done. Certainly we ourselves were not presept, and
our absence was from a lawful cause ; and our lawful attorneys were
not admitted to certify this on our behalf. Nor were we absent by
contumacy ; for (not to insist that the citation was null and void,
as we have stated) that citation did not express any definite term,
as the law requires it should, as evidently appears by the copy
thereof, which we have transmitted in our letters to the princes
and prelates. The complete mandate of master Thaddeus de
Suessa, the judge of our supreme court, and our faithful proctor,
excuses this our contumacy, the authority of which is by no means
impeached by the circumstance that the process against us relates
to criminal matters, not to civil, and that in these our proctor
cannot interfere, since the terms of the citation itself, which
requires the presence of ourselves or our proctors, plainly implies
a contrary meaning ; to wit, that we were to be proceeded against,
not criminally, but only civilly, everything aforesaid being so
limited as not to act to our prejudice.
" But admitting that we were manifestly contumacious, that is
no proper punishment for contumacy, since he who is delated or
accused, if contumacious, ought not to be condemned by a defini
tive sentence before the judgment has been lawfully begun, and
his cause examined into in private or in public. The canon and
civil laws here draw a distinction in the cases of those who are
contumacious.
" Lastly, admitting that our cause is deficient in all the unan-
202 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1245—
swerable arguments in law by which it is defended, the terms of the
very sentence pronounced contains nothing to show that its condem
nation was directed against us who were absent, and not our proctor
who was present ; and every law and all equity clearly demonstrate
that such a sentence is in its very nature null. The proceedings
contained in the sentence establish the obvious iniquity of the
process and action ; but from these we are protected by truth
which cannot be gainsayed, and by public documents, as is esta
blished step by step, beyond doubt, by the evidence of the bearer
of this letter, and by the copies of the documents themselves ;
although all and singular would not have warranted such a severe
sentence (if a sentence so precipitately pronounced can be called
a sentence at all) being directed against a Roman prince. Its pre
cipitancy is manifest from the temper which notoriously had
preexisted for a considerable time. For at least three days the
pope would not admit into his presence the lord bishop of Frisingen,
the beloved prince brother, H., the master of the hospital of St.
Mary of the Teutonic knights, and master P. de Vinea, the judge
of our supreme court, our beloved and faithful friends, whom we
had at length sent to the council for the final conclusion of the
treaty of peace ; for they having waited for the arrival of master
Walter de Ocra, our vicar-chaplain (who with the sanction of the
pope and some of the cardinals had been sent to us), a delay of
twenty days ought to have been allowed for them; but a delay of
two days only was permitted, and that at the earnest entreaty
of the nobles and many other of the prelates, during which he was
absent from the said wicked proceedings at Lyons.
" Another indication of his bitter and proud hostility towards us,
appears in the sentence in which the punishment is awarded; for
in it the Roman emperor, the imperial ruler, and he who wields in
himself the supreme power, is said to have been condemned for
high treason ; and he, who by his imperial position is exempt from
all laws, is ludicrously put in subjection to the law, the punish
ment of whom belongs not to man but to God, inasmuch as he
has no temporal superior. As for spiritual punishments to be
enjoined to us by sacerdotal penances, as well for despising the
keys as for other sins of human infirmity, these we will not accept
at the hands of the pope (whom, however, we are entirely willing
to profess to be our father in spiritual matters, if he, on his part,
will admit that we stand towards him in the corresponding relation
ship of a son), but will reverently receive them from any priests,
and faithfully observe them.
" All these considerations plainly evince how shamefully, how
unjustly we have been held as suspected of wavering towards the
Catholic faith ; which, we take God to witness, we firmly believe
and profess without limitation, in all and singular the articles of the
same, according to the discipline of the universal church, and the
creed which has the sanction of the church of Rome.
" Your prudence will therefore observe that this sentence, which
is null, ipso jure, and these proceedings, which also, ipso jure, are
null, ought not to be observed as affecting us, since they also
A.D. 1246.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 203
redound to the injury of all kings, princes, and temporal dignities
whatsoever. They have not been confirmed by any of the princes
of Germany, upon whom depend our elevation to the throne, our
continuance in it, and our deposition from it.
" Another matter requires notice ; what issue may be expected
from these beginnings ? The first blow has been aimed at us, but
be well assured that it will ere long be directed against other kings
and princes ; for the boast is openly made that if my power be but
brought under their feet (which God forbid!) no resistance else
where is to be dreaded. Defend, then, the cause of your own
kingdom, for it is involved in mine ; look to the interests of your
selves and your heirs. Nor do we forget that we fully expect the
constancy of your king at this time ; for we remember the affinity
which exists between us, that he will not only give no favour,
publicly or privately, to our adversary, his legates, or messengers,
but, on the other hand, manfully and powerfully help us to the best
of his ability. He ought not to admit, on any account, any nuncio
or legate, who is attempting to pervert to our disadvantage the mob
which is subjected to his own authority. You may be assured that
we have resisted these beginnings, for upon us the boldness of this
audacious attempt has first manifested itself, and we have been
aided herein by the right hand of the King of kings, which always
accompanies justice, whereas this pontifical authority is extending
its jurisdiction, to the deprivation no less of ourselves than of
every priest. The aid of kings and princes should not oppose us
herein, for their cause is one with our own, and their interest is as
much at stake as ours is ; the defence, however, which we have
made herein shall leave no cause for apprehension in the minds
of ourselves and of the other nobles of the earth. We take God
to witness that we do this unwillingly ; but the provocation required
it, for we see that, in our times, the faith of Christianity is borne
down by a mighty plague, and we fully depend upon your fullest
and most active cooperation along with ourselves for its assistance.
God shall demand an account of this at the hand of that person,
who has been the occasion of a danger which threatens the de
struction of nearly the entire state of Christendom.
" Dated at Turin, on the second of the kalends of August [31st
July], in the third indiction." l
A.D. 1246. Matthew, cellarer of Melrose, was elected abbot on
the morrow of SS. Tiburicus and Valerian [13th April], and on
Ascension-day [13th May], he was solemnly blessed by William,
lord bishop of Glasgow, in the church of Melrose. The body of
lord Henry de Balolf 2 was removed from St. James, and honour
ably buried in the chapter-house of Melrose. Also Matthew,
abbot of St. Servanus, was deposed, and Geoffrey, prior of New-
bottle, was appointed in his stead. St. Edmund, the archbishop,
was canonized.
1 This masterly state paper is printed among the epistles of Peter de Vineis,
L 84, ed. 8vo. 1740.
2 Probably the Henry de Baliol mentioned in Dugd. Baron, i. 523.
204 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1247—
A.D. 1247. Lord Thomas de Campa died and was buried within
the house of Melrose. Also Philip de Peccokes, and Robert de
Curri, and Adam de Lomokestun, were carried thither and buried,
as also Adam de Baylolf, who was buried near his father ; and
master William of Grenlawe, who was buried in the chapter-house.
Also Ralph, bishop of Aberdeen, died, and was succeeded by
master Peter de Ramesey. There was a change in the coin.
A.D. 1248. Louis, the most noble king of the French, and
many others, as well nobles as of the lower orders, leaving their
native country for Christ's sake, went to Jerusalem ; and on their
arrival at the island of Cyprus, they spent the winter there. In the
same expedition the lord Patrick, earl of Dunbar, departed from
this world ; his son, lord Patrick, succeeded him. The lord John
de Crauforde was buried at Melrose. Hugh, abbot of Kelso, died,
and was succeeded by Robert of Smalhame, a monk of the same
house. Nicolas, lord bishop of Durham, resigned his episcopal
cure, and was succeeded by Walter de Kyrcham, the dean of
York.
A.D. 1249. Gilbert, the lord bishop of Brechin, died, and was
succeeded by his archdeacon Robert. Louis, the king of the
French, abandoning the island of Cyprus, reached the celebrated
town of Damietta, which he besieged manfully, and took after
having slain many of the enemy ; and gained an entrance into it
with his army on the eleventh of the kalends of July [21st June].
Philip, abbot of Gedeworth, died ; his successor was Robert de
Gyseburne, a monk of the same house.
In this same year Alexander, the illustrious king of the Scots,
was seized with a severe illness while he was on his journey to the
parts of Argyll, and was carried to the island of Cerverei,1 where
(after he had received the sacraments of the church) his happy
spirit was removed from this world, and associated with all the
saints in heaven, as we trust. But as for his body, it was removed
to the church of Melrose (as he had himself given directions in his
lifetime), and was there committed to the bosom of the earth as
befitted a king. At the time of his death he was in his fifty-first
year, and in the thirty-fifth year of his reign ; he died on the fifth
<ky of the week, on the eighth of the ides of July, [Thursday, 8th
July], leaving his kingdom to his son Alexander, a boy nearly eight
years old, who, according to the custom of the kingdom, was
appointed king, and placed upon his father's throne by the nobility
on the third of the ides of July [13th July], and was honoured by
all as the lawful heir.
Robert, abbot of Gedeworth, died ; his successor was Nicolas,
a canon of the same house.
A.D. 1250. After everything had so far succeeded prosperously
with the army of the Christians, now their soldiers were delivered
over to the pagans, chiefly in consequence of the pride of the French
(so it was said), who gained a victory over them on the sixth day of
the first week of Lent, [Friday, llth Feb.], who inflicted a sad
1 Kerera, or Kerrera, near the Sound of Mull. See Fordun, ii. 77, where the
word is misprinted.
A.D. 1252.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 205
slaughter upon the Christians, not without a considerable loss to
themselves. Having taken prisoner the king of France himself,
they carried him off alive, and for some time kept him among
them, treating him with the greatest respect, and afterwards they
permitted him to return in freedom to his own country, after he
had paid his ransom, and a truce had been mutually concluded.
After the departure of the king, the pagans entered into Damietta,
and when they perceived that their temples and idols had been
overthrown, they were indignant beyond measure ; and, breaking
the truce, they put to death in various ways all the Christians
whom they could find. Hearing this the king returned to Acre,
and there required assistance from the Crusaders.
Robert de Muschamp1 was buried at Melrose. Master Richard
de Inherketyn was chosen and consecrated to the government of
the bishopric of Dunkeld after the death of bishop Geoffrey.
Frederick, who had been emperor, died. Adam, abbot of Dun-
draynan, died ; and Brian, a monk of the same house, succeeded
him.
A.D, 1251. Ralph, abbot of St. Edward's,2 died; his successor
was John, a monk of the same house, who had formerly been prior
of May. At the same time Hubert, abbot of Kynlos, an aged
man, refused to act as abbot, and he was succeeded by Richard, a
monk of the same house,
In this same year Henry, king of England, and Alexander, king
of Scotland, with the nobility of both realms, met together at
York; and on Christmas-day the king of Scotland received his
arms as a knight at the hands of the king of England, and the
next day he married Margaret, the eldest daughter of the said
king.
\t this time Alan, the Doreward, and certain others were there
accused to the king of Scotland, of an intention to betray him;
whereupon many persons were compelled to resign their offices ;
and others, in the selfishness of their fear, consulted only their own
safety, by basely returning homewards. But the king of Scotland,
acting under the advice of the king of England, conducted himself
with moderation and honour, and went home with his wife. The
cause of the accusation was this. The king of England stated that
he had been informed that the lord Alan, the Doreward (who was
also at that time the justiciary,) and his accomplices, had despatched
messengers and presents to the pope, with the request that he
would legitimatise the daughter which he, the said Alan, had be
gotten by the sister of the king, in such manner that if any accident
should happen to the king of Scotland, they should succeed him in
the kingdom as its lawful heirs. Had he succeeded in this, he
would without doubt have been a traitor towards the king and the
queen.
A.D. 1252. John, abbot of St. Edward's, resigned his office, and
Adam, the porter of Melrose, succeeded him. In the same year
1 He was a benefactor to the monks of Melrose. See Morton's Monast. Annals,
p. 207.
2 The monastery of Balmerinach was dedicated to St. Edward, and its inmates
were a colony from Melrose. See Spotiswood, p. 424.
206 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1253—
Geoffrey, abbot of St. Servanus, and Robert, abbot of Dere, de
parted out of this world, and Henry, prior of Kynlos, was made
abbot of Dere, and Michael, the porter of the same house, was
made abbot of St. Servanus. His successor was John de Had-
dington, monk of St. Servanus.
A.D. 1253. William, the earl's son, died, and David, bishop of
St. Andrew's, departed out of this world. Upon his death a dispute,
arose about the election, whereupon, an appeal having been made,
the prior of St. Andrew's sent his messengers along with his canons
to the court of Rome, and on the other side the king sent his
messengers along with master Abel. But this master Abel, valuing
his own promotion more than the honour of the king or the king
dom (so it is reported), caused himself to be consecrated bishop by
the pope, and so he departed from the court.
Gilbert, bishop of Whithern, died, after whom Henry, abbot of
Holyrood, was elected ; and Ralph, a canon of the same house,
was made abbot of Holyrood.
In this same year Henry, king of England, crossed the sea that
he might settle the affairs of his continental possessions ; he was
followed by Alan, the Doreward of Scotland, who bravely attacked
and overcame the armies of the king of Scotland, in consequence
of which not only did he recover the friendship of the king of
England, but he became in turn the accuser of his accusers and
their accomplices, before the king of England, in many points.
Hereupon there arose a great dissension among the nobility of the
kingdom of Scotland, as will appear in what follows.
Robert Grostet, bishop of Lincoln, died.
A.D. 1254. Master Abel came into Scotland, the king's counsel
first refusing permission, but afterwards granting it ; and he was
honourably received in his bishopric ; but during this present year
he was removed out of this world.
Master Gamelin, the king's chancellor, was chosen after him by
the prior and convent of St. Andrew's, and was confirmed in the
bishopric by the king and his counsellors.
The king of France returned home from Jerusalem ; and
Edward, the eldest son of the king of England, took to wife the
daughter of the king of Castile, from whom he received knight
hood. Pope Innocent died, and was succeeded by Alexander.
A.D. 1255. There assembled at Edinburgh, to meet our lord the
king, on the one side all the nobility of Scotland, and on the other
Alan, the Doreward, and his followers, who were mightily increased
in number, and pretended that they wished to have a conference
about the settlement of peace, but their real object was to capture
the lord their king, They there decided that it was imperative that
a second meeting should be held at Stirling within the course of a
few days, and that they would without doubt establish a peace ;
whereupon the king's counsellors and the other nobility departed,
for the purpose of making the necessary preparations for so im
portant an affair. But earl Patrick, and those others who were on
the opposite side, entered Edinburgh castle in arms, and thrusting
out all who were of the king's household, they seized their lord the
A.D. 1256.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 207
king, and garrisoned the castle with their own troops, intimating to
their other associates that they should make preparations to aid
them in carrying off the king to whatever place they thought most
expedient ; and this they did with the greatest speed. For there
had come to them out of England the earl of Gloucester (whose
name was V.1 de Clare), with a body of armed men, and by his advice
they had committed the said treason ; but he was followed by the
king of England and his wife. When the king's counsellors and
guardians had heard that he was taken prisoner, they were exceed
ingly distressed and astonished at such a treasonable act ; and they
resolved to call together an army, and to render him assistance, a
decision which came to the knowledge of their adversaries : so they
with a high hand carried off the king to Roxburgh, and taking
possession of the castle there, they entrusted its custody to some
of their number, who should hold it at their pleasure. They them
selves, taking the king and queen with them, went to meet the
king of England at Wark, and after they had held a short and
amicable preliminary conversation, the king of Scotland returned
home the same day, but his queen remained there with her mother.
Upon the invitation of the king of Scotland and his counsellors,
the king of England came to Roxburgh upon the day of the
Assumption of the blessed Mary [15th Aug.], where he was met
by the king of Scotland, who received him with the greatest joy,
and brought him into the church of Kelso with a great procession.
Here, after having held a conference, he entrusted the king and
the realm to the earl of Dunbar and his adherents, and so returned
to his own country after a kingly banquet had been served. He
took it ill that the bishop of Glasgow, and the [bishop] elect of St.
Andrew's, and V2 Cumin, styled the earl of Menteith, and others
of the nobility of the land, refused to affix their seals to a certain
most wicked writing, which the said conspirators had framed and
confirmed by their seals, and in which were contained many matters
which would have worked for the dishonour of the king and the
kingdom.
In the same year, on St. Stephen's day, which then fell upon
a Sunday [26th Dec.], Gamelin was consecrated bishop of St.
Andrew's, at his own see, by William, bishop of Glasgow, although
the king's counsellors sent messengers to prohibit it. Henry, lord
bishop elect of Whiteherne, was also consecrated by Walter, arch
bishop of York, which Walter died this same year, and he was
succeeded by his dean, master Sewal. John, abbot of Holme,
died ; he was succeeded by his monk, Henry.
A.D. 1256. Lord Walleran de Normanvil was buried at Mel-
rose. Richard, the brother of the king of England, was elected
emperor of Germany, and Sewal was consecrated.
In this same year bishop Gamelin was outlawed by the king's
counsellors, partly because he would not acquiesce in their wicked
1 Such appears to be the reading of the MS., but the name of the earl of
Gloucester was Eichard. See Dugd. Baron, i. 212, and Ford. i. 325. Wyntown,
i. 384, is correct in this particular.
' 2 Walter Cumin, who in right of his wife was earl of Menteith. Douglas
ii. 223 ; see also Fordun, ii. 90.
208 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1257—
designs, partly because he scorned to give a certain sum of money
as if for the purchase of his bishopric ; and as Scotland had cast him
out, and England refused him a passage through her territories, he
went by sea to France, and thence boldly proceeded to the court of
Rome against his adversaries. Upon his departure, the king's
counsellors pillaged the possessions of his see, and dilapidated them
at their pleasure.
Peter, bishop of Aberdeen, died, and was succeeded by Richard
de Pottern. Roger, abbot of Newbottle, died as he was returning
from the [general] chapter, and was buried at Vallis Dei ; William,
the prior, was appointed in his stead.
A.D. 1257. The king of Germany was crowned.
The king of England attacked the Welsh ; but being defeated by
them, he returned home.
This year there came to the pope messengers sent by the guar
dians of the king of Scotland, who, on the part of the king, accused
the bishop of St. Andrew's. After having heard and examined
both sides, the pope with his own lips pronounced that the bishop
was guiltless of all the accusations which had unjustly been brought
against him, and said that he was most worthy of the bishopric;
and he excommunicated his accuser, and those who had plundered
and invaded the see ; and he commanded Clement, bishop
of Dunblane, and M., the abbot of Melrose, and N., the
abbot of Gedewurth, to promulgate throughout the kingdom of
Scotland the sentence which he had pronounced against the king's
counsellors ; in the first instance, in general terms, with the tolling
of bells and with lighted tapers ; and should they continue in their
contumacy, then by name. They made this denunciation at Stirling;
and, after many admonitions, they repeated it by name (for they
refused to repent) in the conventual church of Kambuskinele.
Now, when all the nobility of Scotland, of whom the leader was
Walter Cumin, styled earl of Menteith, perceived that their king
was the constant associate of men who had been excommunicated,
and becoming apprehensive that the whole land would be placed
under interdict, they made a rising, and, taking him out of their
hands at Kinros, they restored him to his kingdom. The master-
builder of the whole mischief, Alan, the Doreward, when he heard
of this, became apprehensive of the consequences of his treason in
laying hands upon his sovereign, and fled to the king of England ;
but the other accomplices l were scattered, some in one direction,
some in another.
A.D. 1258. Alexander, king of Scotland, came to Roxburgh with
his army, to reduce into subjection the rebels and traitors who had
been excommunicated. They asked for a truce ; and after having
promised (but in treachery) that they would obey him and his laws,
they fixed a day, at Forfar, upon which they would amend any act
of delinquency. Having obtained this delay, they hastened to the
king of England, and entreated that he would give them counsel
and assistance against their opponents. In the meantime, the Scots
1 Here, in the margin of the MS. occurs some words, of which the names "de
Ros et Mar" are alone legible.'
A.D. 1258.J CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 209
and the Galwegians who were in the army ate flesh, not only
during Lent, but even upon Good Friday itself; and on their
return home they abundantly plundered the country.
About the same time G., bishop of St. Andrew's, was re
called from his banishment, and restored to his episcopal see.
Clement,1 bishop of Dunblane, died; after whom was elected master
Robert, surnamed de Prebenda, the dean of the same church.
Sewal, archbishop of York, died, and was succeeded by Godefrid,
the dean of the same church.
About the Nativity of the blessed Mary [8th Sept.], the king of
Scotland made a second expedition with his army against the said
traitors ; for he heard that they had arrived from the king of
England, provided with troops and accompanied by some of the
English nobility. So, while the king of Scotland was waiting for
his army at Melrose, there came to him, from the king of England,
the earl of Hereford, the earl of Albamarl, and John de Balolf.
Their pretended object was to soothe the people, and to establish
peace between the said traitors and their opponents ; but it was
generally reported that their true purpose was to lay hold upon the
king's person once more, and carry him off with them into England.
Of this the king of Scotland was aware, and therefore he fixed that the
day of meeting with them should be upon the morrow at Gedeworth,
in the forest of which a great portion of his army had already been
assembled. He had heard that these messengers had despatched
John Maunsel to the castle of Norham, along with a body of
soldiers and the said traitors. On the morrow they met together
at Gedeworth; and then occurred a lengthened conference, which
lasted for nearly three weeks. During its continuance, Robert,
abbot of Kelso, was removed out of this world, and a monk of the
same house, named Patrick, was appointed in his stead. The Scots
and Galwegians ravaged nearly the whole of that country. At the
end of three weeks, when these messengers perceived that the
Scottish army was now united and prepared to make a descent
upon them, if they lingered, and that their forces were inadequate
to oppose it, they brought about a peace between the traitors whom
we have mentioned and their opponents ; and thus amity having
been restored, each one returned to his own home.
On Michaelmas -day [29th Sept.], William, abbot of Cupre, in
the humbleness of his devotion, laid down the care of his rule in
the chapter-house of Melrose ; and the government thereof was
entrusted to William, the cellarer of the same house. Walter
Cumin, earl of Menteith, died ; also our venerable father William,
bishop of Glasgow, departed from this world on the vigil of St.
Martin [10th Nov.], and was buried at Melrose, near the great
altar, on the day of St. Brice [13th Nov.]. After him master
Nicolas, archdeacon of Tevidale, was elected and confirmed by the
king; after the Purification [2d Feb.], he went to the court of
Rome to receive the rite of consecration from the pope.2
1 Fordun, ii. 92, says he died in 1256. See also Keith, p. 173, where a double
error may be observed.
2 In the margin of the MS., nearly opposite to this entry, occur a few half-
defaced words, of which ". . . et J. de Ros . . ." are alone legible.
VOL. IV. P
210 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1259.
A.D. 1259. Master Nicolas, the elect of Glasgow returned from
the court of Rome without having obtained the rite of consecration,
partly because he was unwilling to pay a sum of money which the
pope and the cardinals demanded from him (for he did not wish to
seem to have entered into the sheepfold save by the door), and
partly because those who had accompanied him, apparently for his
assistance, on the contrary opposed him with all their might. The
ringleader of these was R., the bishop elect of Dunblane, who was
so far blinded in his pride as to imagine that if the election of the
other were quashed, he himself might easily be able to mount up
to the see of Glasgow. In this, however, he was disappointed ; for
master John de Chyum was consecrated, and despatched from the
pope, de latere, to govern the church of Glasgow. As for this R., he
was sent off to the bishopric to which he had been consecrated.
William, abbot of Newbottle, relinquished his pastoral care, to the
government of which Adam, cellarer of Melrose, succeeded on the
day of St. Vincent [22d Jan.].
A.D. 1260. Master John, bishop of Glasgow, (having asked and
obtained permission from the king oi Scotland,) entered into the
kingdom ; and having been presented to the king, was kindly re
ceived by him, and conducted to his see, where he was enthroned
in state. Also A., abbot of Balmurinach, resigned the govern
ment of that establishment (which he could no longer retain, in
consequence of his infirmity) to his successor Adam, a monk of the
same house. Patrick, abbot of Kelso, resigned; he was succeeded
by Henry de Lambeden. Walter, bishop of Durham, died, and was
succeeded by Robert, a monk of the same house. Margaret,1 the
firstborn daughter of the king of Scotland, was born in England.
Michael, abbot of St. Servanus, died, and was succeeded by his
monk, John.
A.D. 1261. Pope Alexander died, and was succeeded by Urban.
Also, Matthew, the sixteenth abbot of Melrose, on the vigil of
St. James [24th July], in consequence of bodily infirmity, entrusted
to his prior the custody of his seal, and thus bade adieu to the
pastoral care. After his resignation, Adam, abbot of Newbottle,
was unanimously elected by the convent, and installed on the day
of St. Peter ad Vincula [1st Aug.] ; and the government of New-
bottle was entrusted to Wido, the porter of the same house.
A.D. 1262. H., abbot of Dere, was freed from the pastoral care
of his flock, which was committed 2 In this year also died
the lord T., the son of Raynulf, and Juliana his wife; their bodies
were brought to the monastery of Melrose, and there honourably
buried on Holy Thursday [18th May]. In the same year died
Alan bishop of Argyll, and was succeeded by Laurence de Ergadia,
a brother of the order of the Friars Preachers.3
1 See various documents connected with this subject in the Fredera, i. 402.
2 A line is here erased from the MS.
3 At the bottom of this page of the MS. are several lines written with a style,
relative apparently to the abbey of Deer, but they are too much defaced to be
legible.
A.D. 1259.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE, 211
SINCE (as we are told by Papias, in the third Distinction of
his Elementary) Chronicles may be defined to be a narrative
of past occurrences, or (according to another authority) we
may style them witnesses for time, the explanation of truth,
memorials of things worthy of preservation, and the mes
sengers of antiquity — after there was laid upon me the care
of writing these Chronicles, I have thought good to call to
remembrance some miracles, appending thereto a narrative
of subsequent events, of which some have been narrated by
others, some are to be narrated by myself, but all have been
omitted by those annalists who have had the charge of our
Chronicles before myself. It is not fitting that these mira
cles, which God has wrought for the abundant merits of
faithful men of true piety, men of reputation in the convent
of the monks of Melrose, should be unrecorded in writing.
Therefore I shall, in the first place, introduce the name
and memory of a certain illustrious monk of this same
monastery.
IN the days of Adam de Harcarres,1 the venerable abbot of
Melrose, there was another Adam, him whom I have just now
styled an illustrious monk. He was by birth a Yorkshireman. It
happened that he was one day in the orchard of this monastery (not
without a reasonable cause), and as soon as he heard the first stroke
of the bell which was being rung for evening service, he hastened
to the church ; and when he was some distance from it, he per
ceived that the postern door of the gate — which, when he had last
passed it, was open — had now been closed, and securely locked ; and
at the same time the larger gate itself was fastened quite as firmly.
He did not know what to do ; and as he was standing before the
gate, in much anguish of heart, lo ! by God's means, that postern
suddenly opened for him of itself, just as he had been wishing.
From this we may gather how easily he entered into the kingdom
of heaven, who was permitted to have the postern gate opened for
him with so great readiness. O blessed Lady of the heavens ! I
cannot but imagine, in the lowliness of my conjecture., that this
wicket had been opened by thee ! For one day, as he was standing
before thee, opposite the altar of St. Stephen, the protomartyr, it
was granted him to see thee, not actually as upon the earth, not
upon the wall, not dependent upon any corruptible matter, but, as
the man of God related, he saw thee in the open and spacious body
of the church, now in motion in the air, now standing motionless,
according to thy pleasure, before him who there most devoutly
loved thee, clad in a most beautiful but an exceedingly delicate and
seamless garment, of the purest white. Thinking that no one
noticed him, he then bent the knee ; then he made frequent signs
with the hand, all of them expressive of the joy which he expe-
1 Translated to Melrose 6th Aug. 1219, and died in 1245.
p 2
CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1259.
rienced in the presence of the beloved one. These gestures were
perceived by a monk who was standing behind him at some little
distance; he privately moved his position, fearing that the anger of
the holy man might possibly be excited against him, on the sup
position that he would consider these motions which he was making
were foolish and excessive. Coming afterwards to him who had
rejoiced thus before the mother of God, he inquired of him what
occasioned him so much joy, when, upon such a day and hour, he
saw him rejoicing before such an altar ? The man of God replied:
" I entreat you, by the power of God and by the mercy of His
mother, that, as long as I am alive, you mention to no one the
vision which I have seen, and I will tell you of it." Having dis
closed it to him, the monk promised that he would never reveal
this vision to any one as long as his informant survived. But the
monk asking why it was that he could not perceive the mother of
God, since he was standing so near to both of them, the other
answered thus : " The mother of God reveals herself to none but
to those who for a long time have waited on her devoutly, and ren
dered to her such services as have in themselves the nature of
good works.1'
Concerning this blessed man, it is worth while to relate one
miracle more, which God performed for him long after his death.
There was in this monastery of Melrose a certain ancient monk,
named William de Duns, whose eyes were so closely sealed up
with blindness, that his eyelids could not be opened, unless either
he himself, or some other person for him, did so with the hand.
After he had lamented his loss of sight for many days, at length
he asked the person who had been appointed to take care of him, to
conduct him to the tomb of this holy man, of whom I have lately
made mention; for before his departure out of this world to Christ
the blind monk had enjoyed the intimate regard of the other. So,
when he had come to his sepulchre, he fell upon his knees and
prayed, saying, " O master Adam, as I truly believe that thou
hast loved God in this life, and that thou art with Him in the
life eternal, after having been called from us to Himself, so I entreat
thee to be pleased to offer up prayer for me to Him, that through
thee I may be enabled to obtain the light of my eyes which I have
lost, my sins demanding it. Remember, dear friend, how much
I loved thee in this life, and that I did thee honour to the best of
my ability." For this blind man had formerly been the sacrist
of the monastery, and had very frequently supplied his friend with
such necessaries as he required. After having prayed such and
such like words, lo! a light of marvellous brightness entered at
first into one of his temples, and, passing through the closed
recesses of his eyes, went out by the other temple, as he himself
informed me. This having occurred in a sudden manner, he rose
up with his sight perfectly restored; and he returned from the
tomb of the holy man without requiring the assistance of the guide
who had led his steps thither.
'Now that we have seen this preceding miracle respecting the
holy Adam of York, it is fitting that I should recount a corre-
A.D. 1260.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 213
spending miracle connected with another monk of ours, whose
name likewise was Adam, a native of Lewenax [Lennox]. It is
reported, that so great was his holiness, that during the twenty
years which he spent at Old Melrose, he was never seen or known
to go into bed nor out of bed. The plain proof of this was, that it
was clearly perceived that the straw, over which were placed the
sheets of that pretended sleeping-place of his, remained constantly
in the same unchanged condition for the whole of this space of
time. But since it was God's good pleasure that this most excel
lent man should not fall into the sin of hypocrisy, the straw which
was laid upon his bed sometimes — though rarely — crumbled into
dust from old age; and then the man of God commanded that
new straw should be laid upon the top of the old, just as if it was
his intention to break through his custom, and to sleep upon his
bed. He did, however, go to sleep; but the little time that he
spent in sleep was passed by him in a sitting posture, or prostrate
before the altar of the blessed Virgin, the mother of God; where
also it was his custom to spend the greater part of the winter
nights in playing upon the harp and singing songs (which are called
" Molets"), written in honour of the holy virgin-mother. During
the day-time he sat for the most part near the church -door, going
daily through the psalter according to custom, and close by his
hand there always stood a basket, in which there was such an
abundant supply of loaves, that no poor man was permitted to go
away from his presence either complaining or unrelieved, but he
always carried something away with him. Therefore, as he himself
used to say, he thought himself fortunate in having such a full
store of provisions laid up for him by those poor persons who
kept flocking to him ; and this, by means of the bread which he
distributed to them. The rich also came to him, and even the
king of the land, that Alexander who lies buried within the church
of Melrose, as well as many others, drawn by respect for his
holiness, earnestly entreating that he would take as much of their
wealth as he thought fitting, but this he very seldom consented to
do; however, he sometimes accepted a few of their cows, that he
might supply the poor with milk when they came to him. He
himself had two cows belonging to the monastery, and they
afforded a supply of milk sufficient for himself and his associate.
The immediate cause which brought the nobles of the land to him
was, that they might confess their sins to him and receive his
blessing ; and many persons thought that his holy benediction
would profit them much.
A.D. 1260. Henry de Lamden, the chamberlain of the monas
tery of Kelso, returned from the court of Rome, bringing with him
papal letters, the import of which was, that upon the production
of the papal mandate, Patrick, the lord abbot, who at that time pre
sided over the said monastery, should forthwith resign in favour of
the person who delivered it, and whose name was Henry; and this
he immediately obeyed. For upon the very same day upon which
the said Henry entered the house of Kelso, without any further
214 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1260 —
delay Patrick placed upon the high altar of that monastery the
pontifical badges with which he had been invested; and these the
aforesaid Henry forthwith assumed in virtue of the grant from the
pope. Let him take heed as to the mode by which he entered
upon that pastoral charge ; for afterwards, whether by the anger of
God or in his good pleasure we know not, he was carried off by
a sudden death as he was sitting at his own table and had just put
the first morsel into his mouth; and immediately after the second
meal of the convent he was committed to the grave on the same
day, possibly because they did not wish to watch around his body.
A.D. 1261. Our venerable father Matthew, the lord abbot of
Melrose, was deposed in the chapter-house of Rievaux, though he
was absent; and this was done without the counsel, nay, without
the knowledge, of a single living soul in Scotland; and his deposi
tion in this sort occasioned much grief as well to the monks. as the
lay brethren of the monastery of Melrose, for in their opinion he
had no fault in him which was worthy of such an act of deposition.
The father abbot, however, was content that he should be thus
dealt with, in consequence of some presentments which had been
made against him, and which to him appeared to be valid. After
his deposition had been announced, that same father abbot absolved,
in the chapter which was held upon the day of his deposition, all
the monks of Melrose from the obedience and the professions
which they had made to him. Alas! that it should be so; for this
good Matthew (who was a revered and open-handed man) had been
the means of procuring for the house of Melrose some property
and many comforts; it is through him that we have pittance-
loaves upon the Fridays during Lent, when we fast on bread and
water. It was he who built our large houses in Berwick, as also
many cow-houses, many houses for oxen, and the great chamber
for the abbot which stands by the bank of the river, as well as
many other edifices.
A.D. 1263. Haco,1 king of Norway, supported by a large number
of ships, came by the western sea to attack the king of Scotland ;
but of a truth, as the same Haco admitted, it was not man's
power which drove him away, but the power of God which crushed
his ships, and sent a pestilence amongst his troops. Such of them
as mustered to engage on the third day after the feast of Michaelmas
[2d Oct.], God defeated and slew by means of the foot-men of
the country. Thus they were compelled to carry off their wounded
and slain to their ships, and to return home in more disgraceful
plight than they had left it.
In this year, upon the day of St. Agnes [21st Jan.], the queen
of Scotland (being then at Gedeworth), gave birth to a son, who,
at his father's desire, was named Alexander, when he was baptized
by Gamelin, bishop of St. Andrew's. And it happened that on the
same day upon which the king of Scotland was informed that God
had given him a son, intelligence also arrived that the king of.
1 Fordun, ii. 97. In consequence of an error in Gale's edition, the date of this
irruption has been considered uncertain by Goodall and Lord Hailes. It happened
in 1263.
A. D. 1263.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 215
Norway was dead. Rejoiced by these twofold tidings of joy, the
king gave thanks to God, who exalts the humble and humbles the
proud.
The ABBOTS OF MELROSE : —
Richard. Hugh de Clippestun, on the ides
Waltheve. of May [15th May], A. D.
William. MCCXIV.
Josceline. William.
Laurence. Ralph.
Ernald. Adam de Harkarres.
Reiner. Matthew.
Ralph. Adam de Macston.
William. John de Hederham.
Patrick. Robert de Keldeleth, formerly
Adam. abbot of Dunfermlin.
Patrick de Selkirk.
BISHOPS WHO WERE TAKEN FROM THE HOUSE OF MELROSE : —
Simon, the monk of Toney, to the bishopric of Moray.
Abbot Josceline, to the bishopric of Glasgow.
Reinald, the monk, to the bishopric of Ross.
Ralph, the abbot, to the bishopric of Down.
Adam, the abbot, to the bishopric of Caithness.
Gilbert, the monk, to the bishopric of Galloway.
A.D. 1263. Elianor, queen of England, (who was believed to be
the root, the originator, and the sower of all the discord which
existed between Henry, the king of England, and the barons of
his realm,) being apprehensive of the barons, went out of England;
and she was followed, a few days afterwards, by John Maunsel,1 the
chief counsellor of the king, who was awed by the same fear.
When they had crossed the sea and arrived in France, the said
Elianor collected such a countless multitude of people from out
of every nation, that they appeared to cover the whole face of the
earth. Their intention was to attack England, and to destroy from
off the surface of the land all who dwelt upon it. When they
reached the sea- coasts of France, Normandy, and Flanders, they
were forced to tarry there so long, that almost all of them were at
last obliged by their wants to sell their horses, their saddles, their
clothing, and nearly every single article of every kind which they
had brought with them ; for G od directed that a very strong north
wind should set in, and blow violently night and day, without
intermission, for two months and more, so that they could not by
any means cross over into England. Hereupon, perceiving that
the power of God was decidedly opposed to them, every man of
them returned to his own home at the end of the second month,
with the exception of the many who died by the road.
In this same year the English barons, who for the last twelve
1 See Rishanger's Continuation of M. Paris, pp. 667, 668.
216 CHURpH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1264.
months had been preparing themselves for a mortal struggle, laid
hands, by right or wrong, upon whatever came within their reach.
Herein they resembled fishes, who (as Aristotle l states in his fourth
book upon Animals) devour whatever they can catch.
A.D. 1264. At the battle of Lewis, the barons of England (in
conjunction with the army of the Londoners, and aided by Gilbert,
earl of Gloucester) gained the victory over their king Henry and
his eldest son Edward, shortly after Easter. On the day after the
battle, the barons gave both of them — I mean, the king and his
son — into the custody of Simon de Montfort. In this same fight,
two of the Scottish nobility, Robert de Brus 2 and John Cumin,3
were taken prisoners, and placed in close confinement in the castle
of Dora. The disagreement out of which originated this struggle
between the king and his barons, had its beginning and its end
in this, that the king and his queen Elianor, the mother of prince
Edward, had for a long time retained near them and favoured the
foreigners, so far as to be guided by their counsels ; and this contrary
to the interests of the kingdom and the wishes of the inhabitants,
whose remonstrances they rejected-— one may almost say, despised.
It was for the purpose, then, of entirely expelling these foreigners
from the kingdom of England that the said battle was fought ; for
so powerful had they become against the inhabitants of the land,
that they had caused many persons to be disinherited. After the
barons had gained the victory, as we have related, forthwith all the
foreigners banished themselves, except Simon de Montfort, and
a few others who remained with him ; and all these had faithfully
promised by an oath, made upon the Gospels, that they would
adhere to the party of the barons. This Simon was earl of Leices
ter, and the son-in-law 4 to the king ; he was an excellent man,
wonderfully skilled and circumspect in making arrangements for
military affairs, and in carrying them out into execution after they
v/ere planned. He was a good soldier, and also had been knighted ;
and from these considerations the barons selected him to direct
them, as well in their counsels as in the war. By birth he was a
Frenchman, descended from one of the most noble and powerful
families of the whole of France ; and he did not degenerate from
his ancestors, but equalled them. He was a man endowed with
heavenly wisdom, and amply provided with knowing precautions.
It may be worth while to introduce an account of one of these.
A few days before this Simon set out against the king, with the
army of the Londoners, whom he was about to lead to the battle
which we have mentioned, he caused a cunningly-devised chariot
to be built, the whole of the outside of which he had covered with
iron, and into it he thrust two of the citizens of London : they
were old men, of some influence, but they were opposed to him
and to the whole city; for they frequently dissuaded the people
.from going out with Simon against the king. And therefore it was
that when this came to the ears of Simon, he shut them up as
1 Aristotiles de Natura Animalium, lib. iv. cap. xii. edit. Aid. fol. Venet. 1504.
Dugd. Baron, i. 450. 3 Douglas's Peerage, i. 161.
* He had married Alianor, the sister of Henry III. Dugd. Baron, i. 572.
A. ft. 1264.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 217
I have described, as a punishment for this wicked, foolish, and
obstinate advice. Now, when the said army was about to leave the
city, Simon took with him, in their carriage, these crafty orators, in
order that they might not cause the city to surrender to the royal
interest while the army of the Londoners was employed in the
expedition against the king. The chariot had a little narrow door,
through which these aged persons could go out and in, but still under
watchful custody, when the necessities of nature so required it. On
the evening of the day previous to that upon which the battle was
fought between the king and the barons, when it grew towards
nightfall, the entrance to this chariot, through which victuals used
to be conveyed to these burgesses, was so firmly closed up by
Simon's orders, that from that time they had no longer any oppor
tunity whatever of issuing forth. Round about that chariot Simon
had caused to be hung those standards which are called penons,
that by this means the king and his army might be deluded into
the belief that Simon was in the chariot ; in which, however, the
true Simon was not : for at that very time he was lurking about in
woods, which were surrounded with mountains and steep rocks, at
some distance from the town of Lewis, somewhat towards the
direction of the south-west of England, in company with the earl
of Gloucester, and some few others of the nobility ; along with
whom were the barons of nearly the whole of England, and very
many renowned knights, many horse-soldiers, and foot-soldiers
innumerable, amongst whom was a large body of cross -bowmen
and slingers, who in the day of battle would occasion great con
fusion to the king's army by the showers of stones which they
would throw, like thunderbolts, from those slings of theirs.
Among the noble persons whom I have mentioned, was the
bishop of Worcester ; he was afterwards banished, because he had
so far reversed the episcopal character as to put aside the meek
ness of the bishop, and assume the warlike qualities of the knight,
wearing at his side a sword instead of carrying the pastoral staff,
and having a helmet on his head instead of a mitre.
So, when the king went out to battle against the barons, those
who were the more forward in the army noticed those penons
which I have mentioned as having been hung round about the
chariot, and they pressed forward to reach it. The Londoners had
already told the royal army that within the chariot sat Simon,
whom they had appointed as their leader in the battle ; and they
added : " He has resolved to keep behind us, and he refuses to go
out with us to fight for us as he promised. We are very suspicious
about him on this account, for he pretends that he is so ill that he
cannot mount his horse. In truth, we were apprehensive that
he would betray us to the king, his son-in-law, and that he would
attack us on the rear, along with the royal army ; and therefore we
have caused this very strong chariot to be made, so that if we must
needs die in battle, he shall die with us; for we will put plenty of fuel
beneath this chariot in which he is, and burn him within it."
Emboldened by such words, those persons whom I have described
as being the more forward in the royal army, pressed forward to
218 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1264—
reach this conveyance in which Simon was, as they believed.
Whilst they were engaged with all their energies in attacking this
fraudulent vehicle, and made no progress in their assault, they lost
ground and courage at one and the same time. As for the chariot,
it was of great assistance to the Londoners ; for, whilst very many
of the king's army were endeavouring with all their strength to
break it open, the lives of those whom I have described as the
Londoners, as well far off as near at hand, were saved ; for the
barons had not as yet come up and joined them, and therefore,
during the delay occasioned by this interval of suspense, while the
assault was being made upon this deceptive conveyance, many of
the Londoners were not engaged in the action. So when the army
of the barons came up, and assailed the king's army on the rear, a
large proportion of the Londoners who had been drawn up in front
of the king's army (such of them especially as were near the
chariot) preserved their strength unabated ; and they afterwards
fought all the more effectively against the exhausted soldiers who
were on the king's side. This deceptive piece of baggage had been
constructed partly with the very intention that it might act as
a device which should prove for the security of the inhabitants of
the city of London ; for though the royal troops were earnestly
engaged in assailing it with all their energies, they entirely failed,
and at the same time the Londoners continued fresh and vigorous,
and ready for the battle. The effort was continued for nearly the
whole day, almost to the eighth hour, by the royal troops, who
attempted from every point of assault to make themselves masters
of this chariot, in which, as they believed, Simon was cooped up ;
and in so doing they lost many men of undaunted courage, many
others of their knights were grievously wounded, much labour was
lost, and much anxiety bestowed upon it, as one troop followed
another. The best of the king's forces seemed to have been seized
with madness, and they rent the air with the wildest shouts, crying
out, " Come out, Simon ; come out ! " Their impression was that
Simon had some device by which he could open the door from
within, so as to be able to leave the carriage ; and therefore they
kept crying out continually, " Come out, Simon, you devil ! come
out of the carriage ! " Whilst they continued these shouts at the
top of their voices, at last the two citizens of London, who were
within, contrived to make them understand that Simon, whom
they were seeking, was not there, but only two unfortunates, whom
Simon had entrapped out of spite to the king; " for he was appre
hensive/' said they, " that the city of London would have been
surrendered to the king's service by our means, had we remained
at home in our houses, whilst the others went out to fight against
the royal troops."
No man in his sound senses ought to believe that this Simon
was a traitor, or to call him one. He was no traitor, but a most
devoted respecter and most faithful protector of the church of God
which is in England, and the shield and defender of the nation of
the English people, and the enemy of the foreigners, whom he
drove out of this country, though he was himself by birth a
A.D. 1265.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 219
foreigner. It was an act of justice, then, not of treachery, when
he carried off in the chariot these two Englishmen, who thwarted
his efforts by their endeavour to prevent the city of London (which
is of greater importance than all the towns and chariots in the
world) from rendering assistance to the barons ; since they could
not by any means accomplish the expulsion of the aliens, unless
they had the most valuable cooperation of that important city;
deprived of which, they would have been surrounded on all sides
by the power of the king's party. Since these old men whom we
have mentioned ventured thus singly to oppose themselves to the
united sentiments of the whole city, they ought, by God's just
judgment, to have perished outside the city, if they and their
chariot had been burnt in the fire.
In this battle many thousand men were killed, foot-soldiers and
horsemen. In this battle, Richard, earl of Cornwall, the brother
of king Henry (who a few days previously had defied the barons to
battle, styling them traitors to the king and the kingdom), being
apprehensive of his life, took refuge in a windmill/ and there he
barred the door upon himself. When it was near eventide, on the
day of the battle, the barons came up to it, and called out loudly
to him, " Come down, come down, you wretched miller ! Come
out of your mill — come out ! " They upbraided him with his
timidity and cowardice, and added, " It is a great misfortune to
you that you must be called a miller — you who so lately defied
us poor barons to battle ; and when you defied us, no less glorious
title would serve you than that of the king of the Romans and
perpetual Augustus ! " For a short time previously he had been the
king of Germany, in consequence of which he styled himself " the
perpetual Augustus and the king of the Romans." So Richard at
last did come out of the mill, and the barons carried him off, after
they had put him in chains ; and then they placed him in close
confinement. But it happened that as he was exceedingly wealthy,
he was liberated, about five months afterwards, by the payment of
a large ransom, no less than seventeen thousand pounds of sterlings
and five thousand pounds of gold — a sum worth having.
A.D. 1265. During the reign of Alexander the third, the king
of the Scots, Reginald de Roxburgh,2 a monk of Melrose, (a man
celebrated for his eloquence, and possessed of excellent discretion,)
set out for Norway, to which he was despatched by the same king.
His object was to obtain possession of the isle of Man (which was
formerly called Regio), and which, with the many contiguous little
islands, had belonged to the realm of Scotland. On his arrival there
he was received with the greatest distinction by the king, who sum
moned all the nobility of the land to meet him for the holding of
a conference, and there he discussed with them the matter of
these islands. During the progress of the treaty the king remarked
that it was very important for the preservation of peace that these
1 A contemporaneous ballad, satirizing this circumstance, is printed in Whar-
ton's History of English Poetry, i. 47.
2 The Norwegian account of this expedition, printed by Johnstone, designates
the ambassador as an archdeacon, and gives a different colouring to ^the whole
transaction.
220 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1265-r
islands should be sold to the king of the Scots ; and when the
nobles heard this remark, some assented to it, and some opposed it.
The wishes of the former prevailed, however, and at the last they
came to a unanimous conclusion that they should be disposed of
to the king, as he wished. Thus an agreement was entered into
between these two kings, by which composition this is the import:
that the king of Scotland shall pay to the king of Norway, each
year for ever, one hundred pounds of sterlings, as a recognition of
the homage made to the king of Norway by the said Alexander,
king of Scotland. For greater security, the latter paid down
at once to the king of Norway four thousand marks, and the
king of Norway received these at one payment in the isle of
Orkney, by the hands of the bishop of that island, for the islands
aforesaid.
A.D. 1266. Reginald, the monk of Melrose already mentioned,
returned from Norway, having accomplished to his entire satis
faction every article in the negotiations for which he had been
despatched. With the sole exception of this monk, none of the
children of the Scots had ever been able to bring about this result ;
for he was a wise man, and exceedingly clear in his exposition of
the Scriptures ; and he has truly earned for the house to which
he belongs, the constant grace and favour of all future kings of
Scotland, unless it should happen that these sovereigns should
prove ungrateful, and return evil for good to the house of Melrose,
which may God turn away from the heart of every Christian
king!
In this same year the chancellor of the lord king of Norway
followed this monk into Scotland, and brought with him the treaty
already mentioned.
. A.D. 1267. Adam de Maxstun, the lord abbot of Melrose, was
.deposed in the general chapter ; he it was who had deposed from
tne chapter of the order a son of his own, the abbot of Holm,
and thus provoked the same punishment of deposition upon him
self which he had inflicted upon this said abbot of Holm; and he
well deserved his sentence, for he had procured the deposition of
his own abbot, Henry, who, however, was restored to his former
seal by the chapter. The deposed abbot of Melrose was succeeded
by John de Ederham, the master of the lay-brethren of the same
house.
James, abbot of Citeaux, was deposed in the general chapter j
his deposition was procured by the convent of Citeaux, but after
wards this same deposed abbot became archbishop of Narbonne,
in Gascony, and he was succeeded in his abbey by John, abbot of
Savigny.
Adam de Smalham, the lord abbot of Dere, a monk of Melrose,
voluntarily laid down his office, preferring the sweets of Melrose,
of which he had already had experience, to the duty of presiding
over the petty convent of the monks of Dere ; in the warmth of
whose devotion he could never feel any assured confidence. Hugh,
the cellarer of the same house, succeeded him.
A.D. 1268. Edward, the eldest son of the king of England,
A. D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 221
having escaped from the custody of Simon (which he did one
evening when he went out into the fields for recreation with a very
few persons of Simon's household), joined himself with many of
the marchmen who had long held lands under him in the marches
[of Wales] , that is to say, in the county of Chester, and by them
he was welcomed with immense joy. After having remained with
them for two days, he hastened to the earl of Gloucester to procure
the liberation of his father ; on his arrival the earl received him
with sufficient respect. While they were eventually discussing the
king's detention in the hands of Simon, and the prince begged the
earl to aid him in the liberation of the king, the earl promised that
he would place all his army at the king's disposal. He collected
his troops with the greatest expedition, and he marched with all
haste against Simon, along with Edward and his marchers. At
this juncture Simon was at Hereford, and the king was kept there
in constraint along with him.
Now, as soon as Simon discovered that the earl of Gloucester
was on the eve of marching against him along with his army to
attack him, he sent without delay to such of the nobles as had
continued firmly attached to the side of the barons in the late
battle. As soon as this message reached the nobles and barons
they were aghast at the unexpected escape of Edward, and they
immediately went to Simon, whom they joined at Evesham, upon
the day appointed. Using that degree of caution which the circum
stances required, Simon had left his son (who bore the same name)
in one of the chiefest strongholds in all England, that is to say, in
the castle of Kellingiswurthe [Kenilworth], together with many of
the armed nobility, that if it so happened that Edward should attack
Simon the father in the front, Simon the son and his army should
assail Edward in the rear. And this plan would have been carried
out, but for the treachery of a certain knight, who betrayed to Edward
the arrangement of Simon the elder respecting the large body of
armed men who were in the said castle.
Having intimation beforehand, through the intelligence of this
traitor, that the armed men were to march out of the castle while it
was yet daylight, and that they intended passing the night in the
town which was close at hand, he that very night despatched a
detachment from the army which he had collected to intercept
the troops of Simon, who (as we have mentioned) had the day
before, unfortunately for -themselves, abandoned the castle, meaning
to sleep in the various dwelling-houses which were in its immediate
proximity. Their object in leaving the castle was this, that when
they rose up from their beds early in the morning, they might have
the comfort of a satisfactory bath, which would make them all the
fitter for the battle on the morrow ; for the town afforded much
more accommodation for the purpose of bathing, in the way of
baths, than they could expect to find within the walls of the castle.
And this was the motive which induced them to abandon that
strongly-fortified castle of Simon's ; and when the knight (whom
we have mentioned as having betrayed the circumstance of their
departure to Edward) made him acquainted with the fact, he did
222 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1268.
not fail to state that baths had been provided for them within the
town.
So it was, that towards midnight a loud cry was raised through
out the whole town when Edward's soldiers rushed in upon the
sleeping troops of Simon. When they heard the noise, they were
beyond measure terrified by the outcry ; for fear and trembling,
terror and apprehension, seized them when they heard the noise of
horses, and their riders calling out for them, and saying, " Get up,
get up, rise from your beds, and come out, ye traitors ! You are
the followers of that deep-dyed renegade, Simon, and, by the death
of God, you are all dead men ! " Thus these persons who had
been so shamefully betrayed all rose up, and escaped by the backs
of the houses, leaving behind them their horses, their arms, their
clothes, and all the baggage which they possessed. Had you been
there you might have seen some of them running off entirely
naked, others with nothing upon them save a pair of breeches,
others in their shirts and drawers ; and of all of them there were
very few, perhaps not one, who was so fortunate as to be able to
dress entirely. Many of them carried off their clothes under their
arms ; and just as they had hurried out of the house in the hottest
haste in this plight (God in his infinite mercy giving them their
lives), Edward's armed soldiers rushed in and made plunder of the
horses, and armour, and everything .else which (as we have said)
had been left behind them by the fugitives.
In the morning the foot- soldiers, who the day before had followed
at the tails of the knights' horses, clothed themselves in the armour
of those noblemen who had escaped, and mounted their horses.
You might there have seen the accomplishment of the prophecy
of the Preacher, " I have seen servants upon horses, and princes
walking as servants upon the earth." [Eccl. x. 7.] When all
these rascally fellows came to Edward, well armed, and riding upon
the horses of the noblemen, he rejoiced with an exceeding great
joy ; and so Edward marched with a large army towards Evesham,
against Simon.
When he had come within two miles of Evesham, Simon came
out to oppose him ; hoping where there was no hope. For, as I
have already mentioned, he had trusted that his son Simon (who had
fled with the others) would join him, and assist him, by attacking
Edward on the rear ; and so he went out, with the little army
which he had. It marched forward boldly ; but all who were with
him, before going out to the battle, had made confession, and had
communicated in the viaticum of the holy Eucharist. Edward
had six or seven men, where Simon had scarce two.
Then the powerful and terrible army of Edward, and the insig
nificant troop of Simon de Montfort, joined in battle ; the latter
being preceded by that bold knight, Guy de Balliol, carrying
Simon's standard. Close by him was Simon's eldest son, Henry,
a gallant knight, who had been so named after king Henry. It
was he who struck the first blow in the battle; the blow was
returned, and he was the first of the many who fell there and
died, for he was pierced by several mortal wounds, inflicted by
A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 223
various hands. On the side of Edward very few fell, on account
of the multitude of the soldiers who were on, the side of the con
querors ; but on the other side nearly all were slain, along with
Simon himself, because their numbers were so few, and they were
so soon exhausted. A few only escaped, by surrendering to
Edward's soldiers, and laying down their arms. That Guy, whom
I have lately mentioned as a valiant Scottish knight, might then
have been saved from a temporal death, but he would not ; he was
killed, as well as a great number of the English nobility, who had
come out to fight for justice to England ; and of the rightfulness
of their cause no greater proof could be given than that afterwards
frequent miracles were wrought, as well by Hugh Despenser, the
chief justice of England, (a man most just and equitable in every
decision, as well in regard to the poor as the rich,) as also by
Simon, and some others, who kept their faith to God, even to the
death, for the sake of justice to the realm of England ; and this
they had rightly undertaken, to preserve against the foreigners, and
even against the king himself, who had wrongfully kept them back
(as we have already mentioned) from receiving the remission of
their sins at the hands of that holy man, Robert Grostete, bishop
of Lincoln, in the edict made respecting the battle of Lewis. Since
then they were fighting for a just cause, they died in justice ; and
therefore, after their deaths, some of them were permitted by God
to work miracles, and so to preserve for themselves glory and
veneration ; in consequence of which it is believed that they are
reigning with God in glory. Amongst these valiant heroes was
Roger de Rewle, a companion of the Guy whom we have men
tioned, and who also, like him, was killed.
As for king Henry (who, by his undue partiality for foreigners,
had inflicted an injury upon England), he went out in arms to
engage in this battle against Simon, in order to restore justice to
England, wearing, however, the armour of some other person ;
I might have said that the king had gone out to fight for the justice
of England, unless his escape from the battle, and his restoration
to his kingly power, would have enabled him once more to have
collected aliens against born Englishmen, and so the last error
should be worse than the first. It seems then to have been the
intention of the barons that the king should die along with them,
should it have become necessary that they should fall in the battle
in which the king was engaged ; their plan was that he should be
unknown to his own adherents, and should fall under the heavy
weight of their blows. Being unable to fight like the others, he
kept calling out at the extent of his voice, " I am Henry, the old
king of England;" swearing sometimes "by the love of God!"
at other times "by God's head!" and constantly affirming that he
was the king ; and he exclaimed to the men who were striking at
him, " Do not hit me, for I am too old to fight." It was his use
and wont to swear such oaths as these. As he was making use of
these exclamations, they took his helmet from off his head ; and
discovering by his countenance that he really was the king, he was
removed out of the battle, and on the day following he was restored
224 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1268.
to his kingdom, to the great satisfaction of the enemies of Simon
and the barons who had been killed. A few weeks afterwards,
when the king was enabled to act according to the uncontrolled wishes
of himself and some of his nobility, he outlawed from his kingdom
his own sister, the wife of Simon, along with her daughter, a most
beautiful damsel, who afterwards married the prince of Wales, and
three sons of the same Simon.
Thus, upon the death of Simon and Hugh Despenser, and the
other nobles of the land, there was a great lamentation among the
people of England; but this was afterwards turned to equal joy, while
the mighty acts of God were shone forth in the precious death of
his saints. For God gave many miracles of the undoubted holiness
of Hugh : at his tomb the blind received their sight, the lame
wralked, and many were the wonders which God performed for him ;
a privilege which he had obtained from God, for he was always
truly just, to the best of his ability, as far as regards his dealings,
both towards God and man, a course from which he could never
be withdrawn. So therefore, after his death, God worked divine
wonders through him ; for during his whole life, up to the hour of
his death, he always held the accurate line of truth.
But did the Almighty God leave Simon unprovided with the
power of working miracles ? l Certainly not. Therefore we have
thought it good to introduce here an account of a few of these
miracles, which were done by him through God's power.
It happened that immediately after he had been killed, and
stripped of the arms in which he had been clad, some of the sons
of Belial came up and cut the hands and feet off the corpse ;
and it is respecting one of the hands that the following narrative is
told : — There was a certain man belonging to the frontier lands
[of Wales], an inhabitant of the county of Chester, who had been
in the battle of Evesham, along with Edward, and who, after the
battle, became possessed of this hand of Simon's, about which
I have been speaking. He sent it to his wife by a companion as
wicked as himself, thinking that she would be rejoiced at the
death of their enemy, of which this hand was a conclusive proof.
The attendant, on his arrival at his master's farm, did not find
the lady of the farm at home, but he hastened on to the parish
church, where she was, which was situated at no great distance
from his lord's dwelling-house. When he arrived there, carrying
in his bosom the said hand, wrapped up in a cloth, he went up to
the lady, and, whispering in her ear, he told her of the death of
Simon, and he added, " See, here is a token that he is killed,"
intending to show her the hand which had been cut off. But the
woman, not liking to be put to the blush, or perhaps fearing God,
refused at that time either to look at the hand or to touch it, although
the retainer of her husband earnestly urged her to take what he
1 The miracles ascribed to Simon de Montfort have been collected by some
admirer of his sanctity, and a copy of them is contained in the Cottonian MS.
Vesp. A. vi. fol. 168, from which they have been printed as an appendix to the
Chronicle of Rishanger, in the Camden Society's edition, 4to. Lond. 1840. Tyrrell,
in his History of England, refers to what appears to be another copy, which
occurs in the Public Library at Cambridge.
.A.D.1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 225
had brought, and keep it in her own possession. As he was
entreating her to act thus wickedly, the lady said, " Keep it
covered up until divine service is finished." Obeying his lady's
commands, he withdrew, and took his place among the crowd,
that he might hear the mass ; and it happened that at the eleva
tion of the blessed host, as the people were lifting up their hands,
this attendant also lifted up his hand to adore the Lord, whom
the priest had just elevated. Behold ! the hand of the holy
man, whom this servant of a bondslave of the devil was carrying,
was, without any assistance whatever on his part, raised up above
his head by God's power, in order that thus the supremacy of his
exaltation might be perceived all the more clearly, towering above
every head, even that of the tallest man of all the multitude there
assembled. And having thus adored the Lord of Majesty at his
elevation, as I have stated, when [the priest] bowed himself before the
altar to adore the Lord, quicker than language can express, it again
stooped to the same place whence it had gone out, not without the
power of God, for the cloth into which it had been sewn was found
to be as firmly stitched together as it had been at the first, nor
could the bearer discover any alteration in it. Deliberating upon
the wondrous nature of this miracle, the woman, of whom I have
spoken, feared God, and said to the attendant after mass had
ended, " Carry back to my husband that hand which he has sent
me by you, for it shall never cross my door." For she had been
stricken with a wonderful astonishment at the sight of such an
unprecedented and unheard-of miracle ; and therefore she said to
her husband's retainer, " The man, whoever he is, who cut off that
hand, deserves the severest punishment ;" and then she privately told
the messenger about the vision which she had seen ; for although
many of the faithful of Christ who were there present had seen it,
yet this privilege had not been vouchsafed to all of them ; and she
commanded him honestly to tell his lord, when he returned to
him, about the vision of which he had heard. Then the ser
vant hastened off upon his return to his master, carrying the
hand with which he had been entrusted ; for he had not even
entered the house of his mistress, as she had vowed, in conse
quence of the hand of which he was the bearer. Hence it appears
that she was one of those foolish virgins, who, in their folly, re
jected this hallowed hand ; yet this was not done without the
counsel of God, who disposes every action. For that son of
Belial, her husband, was unworthy to have in his house a hand of
such exceeding sanctity ; and so it was believed that it had passed
over, by God's providence, to an owner much more worthy of it.
But how or where it is, I am entirely ignorant ; yet of this I am
sure, and this I firmly believe, that at the daily elevation of the
health-giving host this Simon, during his lifetime, was in the con
stant habit of raising up his hands with the most intense devotion,
with the most earnest love towards Christ ; and that he raised up his
hands in this spirit of devotion, the surest and most infallible token
which we can have is this, that, as has been recounted, his dead
hand was raised up in adoration of the Redeemer of the world,
VOL. IV. Q
226 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1268.
who was born of a most clean Virgin. Hence it is that I call to
remembrance the remark which occurs in that little treatise written
about the battle of Lewis, to the effect that Simon was endowed
with divine wisdom ; for what can a man do in this life which is
wiser, truer, and better, than to love, honour, and adore his Creator
from his inmost heart ? That Simon did this I doubt not, and
therefore I conclude this miracle, and hasten on to recount another
which the Almighty God did through his instrumentality. The
hands of this man are surely much more holy in the sight of God
than the hands of Scipio which Seneca adored, as appears in the
last chapter of the twelfth book of a treatise " On the Twelve
Degrees," of which Seneca himself is the author.
Close by a certain town in Northumberland is a celebrated house of
the canons of the Premonstratensian1 order, who there serve God.
One of Simon's feet was carried to this house by a man of happy
memory, the lord John de Wescy, the lord of the borough of
Alnwick, the founder and patron of this house of the canons
of which I have spoken. After it had remained here for several
months, it was found that it was without any corruption whatever.
To secure the continuance of such an extraordinary instance of
incorruption, which had thus deservedly exhibited itself in the foot
of this holy man, the canons of the same abbey (it is called the
abbey of Alnwick, for it is situated near the town of Alnwick), out
of reverence to God the Creator, made a shrine of the purest
silver, in the shape of a shoe, for this foot of incorruption. This
foot exhibited a wound, which was visible between its lowest joint
and the joint which is immediately connected with it, which,
whether it were made by a hatchet or a sword, I will not decide ;
for the person who cut off the foot of the holy man was not con
tented with the numerous mutilations which he inflicted upon the
body of the holy man, but was unhappy until his cruelty vented
itself by this additional wound on the foot. It happened that
about this time a very rich burgess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
became exceedingly ill, so much so that he was nearly deprived of
the entire power of motion. He could not even stir one of his
feet from the bed on which he was lying ; he could not raise his
hand to his mouth; he could not discharge any bodily function
whatever ; nor would he permit any one to touch him, for such
was the extremity of suffering to which he was reduced through
this disease, which pervaded his entire body, that he preferred to
die rather than to be moved from his bed, so intolerable was the
burden of his infirmity. One night he heard a voice which said
to him as he was dreaming, " Rise up to-morrow morning, and
you will find that your disease is somewhat abated ; go to Alnwick,
and in the abbey of the Premonstratensian canons of that place
you will discover the foot of Simon de Montfort ; and from that
foot/' said the voice, "you will obtain an entire cure." Very
early in the morning of the next day he found, on arising from his
bed, his disease was to some little extent alleviated, as the divine
1 Alnwick abbey. See Tanner's Notitia Monastica, Northumberland, No. 1,
Dugd. Monast. ii. 591.
A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 227
voice had predicted to him; but it cost him some considerable
pain to mount his horse, but he did this, and as speedily as he
could go, he went to Alnwick. As soon as he reached the house
of these religious, he dismounted from his horse as he best might,
and hastened without delay to visit the foot of the holy man. No
sooner did these devout canons see this, than two of their number,
that they might shorten the journey of this burgess to the place
where the foot was deposited, for he was still exceedingly ill, and
they were apprehensive that he could not endure the fatigue of
walking thither; two of them (I repeat) reverently carried the foot,
along with the shoe in which it was deposited, from the place in
which it was usually kept to meet the invalid. Before he came so
near as to be able to kiss the shoe, the merits of Simon were so
effectual with God, that this man was permitted entirely to recover
his health, simply by the sight of the shoe. Reflect, then, how
great glory must exist in this foot of Simon, when it shall be
reunited with the entire body after the general judgment, since the
single limb was so effectual even before the judgment, that the power
of healing shone forth even from the lifeless substance in which it was
enshrouded — this shoe of silver ; for the power of God thus in
visibly issued forth from the foot, through the shoe, so as to make
this sick man whole.
Nor was the other foot left without the honour of a miracle, as
we may piously believe. This foot had been sent to Lewlyn,1 the
prince of the Welsh, who had entered into a treaty with Simon, the
subject-matter of which has been open to suspicion, and on which
I do not touch, on account of the evil surmises which are afloat
respecting it. For Simon was open to some mistrust, for the whole
of the royal jurisdiction was at this time in his hands, along with
the person of the king, whom he was keeping in custody, with the
advice of the barons. Now, because Simon had promised to give
lis daughter to Lewlyn, as we have already stated, (who indeed did
marry her afterwards,) it was for this very reason that the other
foot of the former was sent as a present to the latter; and this was
done as an insult to both the one and the other of them, that by
this compliment the prince might perceive how much the English
bated him for his connexion with this Simon.
Now, about the hand of Simon, of which I have already made
mention, I am uncertain whether it is that of which I have already
spoken, or the other about which I have hitherto said nothing; but,
as I have been informed by Thomas de Stangrife,2 the lord abbot
of the monks of Riveaux, a man of the most venerable sanctity,
that one of Simon's hands is kept at Evesham, in a place of the
greatest veneration, we may piously believe that it has not
been left there by God without some miracles having been ex
hibited ; for God does not so highly exalt one part of a man by
1 Lewellin, son of Griffin, prince of Wales, married Alianor de Montfort,
daughter of Simon de Montfort. Foedera, i. 549.
2 No abbot of the name of Stangrife occurs in the list of abbots of Eievaulx
which is given in the new edition of Dugdale's Monasticon; but one Thomas —
probably the individual here mentioned — professed obedience as abbot on the 4th
the nones of February, 1286 Monast. Anglic, v. 277.
Q 2
228 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1268;
honouring it with the power of working wonders, and yet leave
another part of it without this same privilege. We must, therefore,
believe for a truth (in my opinion at least), that as for the other
hand and foot of Simon, respecting the power of which to work
miracles I have been silent, God Almighty has indeed con
descended to perform wonders by them, as was well pleasing to his
Godhead.
Since, then, Simon may be believed to have been well pleasing
to the Almighty Lord, he may rightly be compared to Simon Peter,
the prince of the apostles. In this comparison which I am about
to institute between these two Simons, if the reader shall chance to
discover something which is not quite satisfactory in his opinion,
I entreat him to correct what is amiss, and to pardon the folly of
the offender. It is not my meaning, in this comparison of the
inferior Simon with the superior, to prefer him or any other Simon
in the world to the prince of the apostles ; but whilst I recal to
memory that earl Simon, in regard to his faith, was inferior to the
faith of the apostle, yet I may compare the miracle which God per
formed for the one, with a like kind of miracle which God performed
on account of the other. My comparison, in short, runs thus : If
the disease with which this burgess was afflicted, thus hastily aban
doned him when as yet he was afar off from the foot of this Simon,
and had not come sufficiently near to kiss it, as we have stated
above, may not this Simon be compared with him who was his
superior (without disrespect to the apostle), the fear of whom, as
he was hastening to the house of a certain rich man, expelled, even
before he crossed the threshold, a most cruel devil from the
daughter of that individual, by which the girl had been tormented
from the seventh year of her age until the twentieth ? I repeat it,
may not a comparison be fairly instituted between this greater
Simon and Simon de Montfort ? In the one instance, the devil
fled out of the young woman, as Simon was on his way to the
house ; in the other instance, the demon of his infirmity fled from
this burgess with all speed, as I have already stated, before he could
reach the foot of that other Simon. There is a miracle on each
side ; but the lesser miracle belongs to the lesser personage. It was
a more striking wonder that the devil — which had so influenced
the girl that, in the extremity of her fury, she tore, scratched, and
bit all who came near her, and whom (as we are informed) the
same evil spirit had instructed, that she disabled some and killed
others — should be cast out, to the glory of Christ and Peter, as
Simon Peter was on his way towards her house, as appears towards
the end of the eleventh book of the History of Clement. Thus,
then, the greater miracle must be awarded to Peter, and the less to
Simon, whom I have styled Simon the Less ; for the malice of the
evil spirit who was expelled from the sick burgess was one thou
sand-fold less than the savage ferocity of the devil who thus wildly
raged in this young woman, as is evidenced by the continuance
and degree of the fierceness of each of them respectively.
For the second time, I entreat those persons who may read what
I am now about to write, in instituting another comparison between
-A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 229
these two Simons, if I award the superiority to the one over the
other, not to be angry with me if I consider that the narrative
which follows entirely eclipses its predecessor. For what is there
more excellent amongst mankind, or more reasonable in itself in
the whole nature of things, than that one thing should be compared
with another, provided it be done with justice ? This is done in
justice if this comparison of the man have immediate relation to
God ; for Simon Peter said, when he had passed the middle of the
night — " I now awake up willingly, so that sleep shall not again
return to me ; and this I do, because it is my custom to call to
mind the words of my Lord Jesus which I have heard Him speak.
Out of love to them I stir up my mind, and exercise authority over
my thoughts, that I should watch over every word of my Lord,
which I recal and retain in my memory by pondering upon them.
Thus, then, while I desire to deliberate in my heart upon the
sweetness of the words of my Lord, the custom of watching has
grown upon me by the Lord's favour. In such an unspeakable
manner as this has the older habit of my mind become changed
into a newer custom." This he says, towards the beginning of the
second book of the History of Clement.
The Simon whom we have already mentioned may most properly
be compared with this Simon Peter. A comparison cannot be
fairly instituted between two objects unless they be placed in juxta
position. Thus, Simon de Montfort may be compared with Simon
Peter (the only one with whom he may be compared) ; for after he
had made oath with the barons, by the king's directions, — the king
himself having sworn in like manner along with Simon, nay, rather
before Simon, faithfully to stand to the decision of the barons at
Oxford, which had been enrolled by the wise men of England, — he
began to deny himself, so to speak, and, like Simon Peter, to watch
all night ; and, in adherence to this custom, he used to rise about
midnight, at the warning of some bell, which no one heard save
himself, if it be permitted to describe God's providence as a bell,
for it never failed him after he had commenced this custom.
A wax taper was his bell, which it was his wont to light each night
as he went to bed ; and God so adjusted this taper, with reference
to the length or shortness of the night, as the case might be, that,
w7hen it reached the point which indicated midnight, immediately
he arose from his bed, as if awoke by God, and yet so noiselessly,
that none of those who were sleeping near at hand either heard
him or were aware that he had so risen. Long-continued custom
enabled him to do this with the same precision as if he had been
awoke by the most accurate timepiece. Thus, habitually shaking off
the inclination to sleep until cock-crowing or early dawn, his
example herein corresponded with that of Simon Peter ; for, from
that hour at which he arose during the night until the night of the
following day, sleep never closed his eyes, exactly as was the case
of Simon Peter. How beautifully does the one Simon herein cor
respond with the other ! for, while the one continued in earnest
prayer before God, night after night, so did the other spend each
night in continually meditating upon the words which he was about
230 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1288.
to announce to the unbelieving people on the ensuing day. While
Simon was thus in watching and prayer^ he knew by heart the
primer, the psalter, and other prayers, which he repeated during
the night with alacrity and devotion ; for he was not forgetful oi!
the love and the commands of his Creator. We may well believe,
therefore, that in doing these things, he did what was well-pleasing
in the eyes of the Almighty Creator ; especially if that was true
(yea, rather because it was true) which his private attendants in his
bedchamber reported of him, namely, that all day long and all
night long he was clothed in haircloth. So great was his tem
perance in his diet, so praiseworthy was his frugality in his clothing,
that he did not exercise himself in great matters which were too
high for him ; but whilst he was with those of his own household,
he was contented with a russet garb : even when associated with
the nobility of the land, he seldom wore a scarlet dress, but most
generally clothing of a blue or brown colour, possibly that they
might the less suspect that his under-garments were of haircloth ;
for he was apprehensive that some such report had got abroad into
"the world.
Once more, what can I say about his thrift, so frugal, and
therefore so praiseworthy, as that was, which he exhibited in the
midst of wealth so abundant and luxuries so profuse, but this —
that herein his scanty self-indulgence may be compared with the
example of Simon Peter? His clothing, too, may be compared
with the mean dress of that same Simon Peter, whose sole nourish
ment was bread and olives, and it was only upon rare occasions
that he indulged in vegetables and bread. The clothing of this
Peter was nothing more than a tunic and a cloak ; and he himself
affirmed that these two garments were sufficient for him. About
these matters, see the eighth book of the History aforesaid, towards
the beginning.
Furthermore, let us observe the nature of the moderation which
dwelt in Simon the soldier. You must observe that the character
of moderation is this, that it takes neither too much food nor too
little, but always holds a middle course between the two — between
the excessive and the deficient. Now, Simon never exceeded the
accustomed measure prescribed to him by his frugality, either in
his eating or his drinking ; and therefore he deserves to be styled
moderate, as is further demonstrated by his habit of early rising, in
which he always persevered, as we have already described. Those
who slept along with him did not arise, but spent nearly the whole
night in bed; but they got up with an impaired digestion, and sur
feited with excess of sleep, nothing of which kind occurred to our
Simon. No excess of sleep could be noted in him, for his modera
tion was great. Thus we may find an example of holy moderation
in Simon; for in him temperance in sleep accompanied temperance
in diet, as is said by the most holy Bernard. We have shortly
before this had an illustration of the moderation of Simon Peter ;
for, to continue the extract which I have already made from his
own words, " We (that is, I and my brother Andrew), from the
time that we were boys, were always in a state of poverty/' Observe
A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 231
here, the moderation of Peter commences with the early dawn of
poverty, which was afterwards adorned in the school of Christ with
the moderation of true holiness ; so that these two Simons might
appear to be companions in the matter of moderation, due regard
being had to the superiority of the apostle, whose moderation
springs from the words of our Lord Himself, who said, " Take heed
to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with sur
feiting and drunkenness " (Luke xxi. 34), two sins which were very
far distant from both of these Simons. Thus Simon, the scholar of
Christ, could have said to Simon, Christ's soldier, had they been
contemporaries, as he said to his disciple Clement, in the passage
above referred to, "I wonder at this, and praise you for it, that
though you are a man of great wealth," (for pope Clement was of
imperial family, just as earl Simon was of a kingly family,) " yet
since you have come among us, you have so easily changed your
habits, and adapted yourself to our mode of life, which uses only
what is necessary for the poorest, and ignores pleasures." Nor is it
to be wondered at, that those persons who enter upon the path of
righteousness for God's sake, obtain from Him the gift of a perfect
moderation, which never swerves from the measure of sober
moderation ; for we read that there exist some brute creatures,
which have been endowed by God with the gift of such entire
abstinence, as never to touch anything for their food which is of a
corporeal substance, like as other living things do. Thus Solinus
mentions, in his book " On the wonders of the world," (chapter
clxiv.) when speaking of a quadruped called the chamelion, that
such is its nature, that it takes neither food nor drink, and is sup
ported solely by imbibing the air, which it is constantly sucking in ;
and yet, according to the testimony of Pliny (Book viii. chapter
xxiv.), it has flesh, and blood, and entrails ; and he adds, that its
head and cheeks are fleshy, and that the blood of its whole body
lies in a small tail with which it is provided ; and yet, though it is
a very large creature, as he himself states in his Natural History
(Book xi. chapter xxxviii.), there is nothing in its inside but a
hollow cavity; and we cannot suppose that it is independent of the
air, for, according to the same authority (Book viii. chapter xxxiv.),
its mouth is always gaping after the support which it derives from
the air — nor, indeed, has it any other. Other living things, worms,
for instance, live without bodily food. There are some of them
which are to be found in a province near the Torrid Zone, as the
letter of Prester John informs us, and these are called salamanders.
The only fitting residence of these important worms is the fire, and
from it they derive their support. Distinct from these salamanders
are others which belong to other provinces : they are not only good
for nothing, but they are venomous ; and therefore they spin for
themselves little coverings of silk, within which they conceal them
selves, like as do the other worms which produce silk ; and from
these cocoons are made the garments which are worn by kings and
nobles. The only mode of cleaning these garments is by putting
them in a strong fire. I suppose that the garment of which Pliny
speaks (Book viii. chapter xlviii.) was one of these ; his words
232 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1268.
are, " There is a certain kind of dress which resists sword and
fire."
Having seen, then, that there exist creatures, who in their
moderation and abstinence surpass all that man can exhibit, we
have no cause for wonder if we discover that Simon obtained from
God the gift of moderation to such a degree that he never exceeded
so far as to use anything which was superfluous ; for even the
camel refuses to advance one step beyond the length of the journey
to which he has been accustomed, nor will he carry more than his
usual load ; concerning which see Pliny, (Book viii. chapter xix.)
This excellent habit may well be compared with the virtuous
moderation of our Simon, which by no means suffers by the com
parison ; concerning whose shirt of hair we have now something to
say, the sanctity of which must be acknowledged. For if, as Pliny
says (in the eighth chapter of the same book), there is a healing
virtue in the bristles of the camel, — by bristles, meaning hairs, —
much more ought the hair shirt of every saintly man, which is
made of the hair of a camel, or of some other animal, to be
reverenced for its holiness. Here compare the hair shirt of this
valiant Simon the knight, with the tunic and cloak of the most holy
fisherman, of which we have already said somewhat ; and, unless I
am much mistaken, you will find that the sharpness of Simon's
haircloth inflicted upon the wearer a punishment no less sharp than
the bare cloak and tunic of the more illustrious Simon produced in
him. I cannot imagine that the garments of the latter would need
to have been censured for their newness ; I should suppose that
rather they were old, not new, and therefore thin and chilly; and in
consequence he would be no less pinched by the winter's cold than
scorched by the heat of summer. When placed under the influence
of the burning sun, in such a dress, must not he have been oppressed
with its burning heat ? Assuredly. It might possibly be suggested
that the thinness of this garment would afford him a cool protection
against the heat, as he wandered about from nation to nation,
preaching to them the kingdom of God, and so was exposed, while
so doing, for many a weary day, to the burning sun of summer.
There was no lack of austerity in each of these Simons, arising out
of the excess of their love for the eternal life after which they
yearned. And so, indeed, Simon Peter says of himself in the eighth
book of the Itinerary of Clement, " My mind is fixed not upon the
things which are present, but upon those which are yet to come ;
and therefore I have no delight in that which is present and
visible." Nor had Simon the earl any pleasure in such like gratifi
cations ; and therefore he said that he would never draw back from
the cause which, for God's sake, he had justly undertaken, the
defence of England, neither for life nor for death, " since/' as he
added, " I am about to die for it."
That which more than anything else occasioned the death of this
Simon, was the faithful oath which he had made for England ; for
from the day upon which he took it, he ever afterwards began to
grow more strict in his mode of life, until the day of his death, as
has before been stated. Up to this period he had not refrained
A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 233
from the society of his own wife, but henceforward he estranged
himself from it, following the example of Simon Peter, of whom it
is believed that he wholly debarred himself from the endearments
of the married state ; his wife being in the habit of following behind
the crowd of the disciples of Peter, along with the mother of Saint
Clement and the other holy women, as is stated in the eighth book
of the Itinerary of Clement.
At this time, as I have remarked already, Simon wore a hair
shirt. You might have heard grave and religious men, of different
orders, saying everywhere throughout England (some of them came
into Scotland, and made the same observation), that after Simon
was dead, they would quite as willingly visit his tomb, for the pur
pose of their praying to God, as they would go to Jerusalem for the
same purpose. This was in consequence of the austerity of his life,
as demonstrated by the haircloth which he wore ; for those who
were the chamber -fellows with him had mentiond to some of their
more intimate friends that Simon used a shirt of hair, and that he
took pleasure in so doing ; for there is nothing hidden which shall
not be revealed. Another reason was, that he had taken in hand
the most righteous cause of defending the inhabitants of England.
There were others who said, that if, at the time when they were
speaking, Simon had fallen for the sake of right (as he afterwards
did), they would quite as readily have gone to his sepulchre, there
to pray to God, as to the great shrine of the holy martyr Thomas,
in which he reposes at Canterbury, endowed by God with many
miracles, and adorned with precious stones. The remark which
they made in their conversation with each other was not devoid of
sound reason ; for no less did Simon die in a just struggle for the
lawful rights of the realm of England, than Thomas had formerly
done for the lawful rights of the church of England. Each of them
had died in his own day, clothed in the penance of haircloth — a
penance which sooner than any other leads a man to God — that so
they might put on incorruption through means of the penance thus
voluntarily assumed by God's inspiration.
After the illustrious death of this Simon, the Friars Minorites,
whom he had always loved as became a religious man, and who
also were acquainted with the inmost thoughts of his heart in
many respects, adopting his life as the outline of their narrative,
published a history out of his excellent actions, consisting of
lessons, responses, verses, hymns,1 and other matter appertaining
to the honour and respect due to a martyr ; but as long as Edward
survives, this compilation does not attain that acceptance, by being
chanted within the church of God, which was anticipated.
There were some persons who lightly esteemed this holy man
after his decease, but they died a disgraceful death. One of them
was a canon of Alnwick, who, after he had one day been under
valuing Simon, very unnecessarily (at this time the earl's foot had
not reached that house), discovered next morning, when it was
1 Tyrrell, in the introduction to his History of England, refers to a manuscript
in the Public Library at Cambridge, which contains some hymns in honour of
this Simon.
234 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1268..
time to rise from his bed, that he had not a single eye left him in
that wicked head of his ; for on the previous day he had sworn by
God's eyes, that Simon was a traitor to the king of England and
his nobles. No wonder, then, that his eyes dropped out of his
head, God thus punishing him for Simon's sake. In each eyehole
there was a deep and a ghastly hollow. The man died suddenly on
the same day.
John, bishop of Glasgow, died at the city of Meaux, in France,
and there he was buried ; and in his stead William Wiscard, the
king's chancellor, was chosen ; and being still bishop elect at the
time when Gamelin, bishop of St. Andrew's, died, he was chosen
to become the occupant of that see. His nephew, Robert Wiscard,
the archdeacon of Lothian, became the elect of Glasgow, and was
afterwards consecrated as its bishop.
Another accursed servant of the devil, who had cut off the
private members of this holy man Simon, died a most horrid death
two years after he had committed this great crime ; for, being in
Scotland, he was drowned in the large and deep river of Tay, which
falls into the sea near the noble town of Perth ; and when they
would have taken him out of the water, it was discovered that
a couple of frightful crabs had fixed their claws so firmly into his
belly, that they could scarce be removed. His unhappy corpse,
after it was dragged out of the river, ought to have been buried
with the burial of a horse : for in some places (in the region of
Agrigentum, for instance) horses of a good breed, out of respect to
their pedigree, are buried in a grave, and over them is placed
a pyramidical tomb ; as appears from Pliny's Natural History
(Book viii. chapter xliv.). I was wrong, however, in saying that
this wretched man, of whom I have just now been speaking, ought
to have been buried like a horse ; for he had less of nobility about
him than a horse has, which deserves a noble burial-place : for it is
remarked, in the same chapter, that a rich emperor made a tomb
for his horse, and a poem was composed in its honour. In the
same place it appears, that when Alexander the Great was building
his twelve Alexandrine cities, he named one of them Buceplialia,
after his horse Bucephalus, which he buried there when it died,
and gave its name to the city in which it had thus nobly been
entombed. This horse well deserved such an honour ; for it had
carried its master Alexander in safety through the dangers of many
a terrible battle, as Solinus states in the hundred and seventy- third
chapter of his book " On the wonders of the world." This horse
was taken by the beauty of Alexander ; but I rather think that it
was by its attachment to him, while he was still a youth, as Pliny
tells us in the same place. My reason for speaking of its attach
ment to the youth Alexander is this, that it threw every one who
attempted to mount it, save its own master, Alexander. Solinus
mentions that there have been other horses who would not con
descend to carry any but their own master ; and there are many
other things mentioned to the credit of these animals, such, for
instance, as that they shed tears when their masters died. What an
affectionate and noble creature is the horse ! Also, it is stated that
A.D. 1268.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 235
they starve themselves to death when they lose those masters to
whom they are attached. Did not I fear that it would be wearisome,
I would dilate upon their affection. Now, when we remember the
respect thus lavished upon horses, when they are buried in an
honourable tomb, may not we feel some indignation that this
person, who cut off the private parts of the holy man Simon, was
interred in a beautiful field; whereas it would have been much
more fitting had he been buried near the gallows, where robbers
and other malefactors are laid, unless, indeed, he had repented
him of the crime which he had committed against Simon ?
John Maunsel died in the parts beyond the sea, in great poverty
and distress. This wretched person had so large an amount of eccle
siastical revenues, that out of them he could spend eighteen thousand
marks yearly. Hence he refused to accept even the larger bishop
rics of England, partly because he held in pluralities very many of
the richest churches in England, partly because he was incontinent.
Speaking of a church which was moderately endowed, being worth
twenty pounds, he said, " That paltry church will do for our
hounds." Hence you may gather, that out of the proceeds of that
church, bran, and meal, and other matters required for his dogs,
were to be provided. This person was Simon's enemy and the
king's chief counsellor; and he persuaded the king to break the
oath which he had made to the barons, that he would be faithful
to England, which the king did. Hereupon he [Maunsel] was
despatched to the papal court to obtain an absolution,1 by which
the king might be released from the oath which he had made to
the barons ; and the king's petition speedily procured the abso
lution which he desired. Hence followed the first battle of which
we have already spoken, begun by the king after he had obtained
this absolution. But woe to the king's breach of faith ! He had
sworn that he would abide by the decision of the barons in every
respect ; and the barons had sworn that they would adhere to the
same agreement, which they had faithfully made for the king and
his realm. But as the king did not keep his oath, so it was main
tained by many that this was the reason why the barons got the
victory over him, since they had faithfully sworn to save the
kingdom. To this oath Edward had never assented ; and when, at
a later period, he was in confinement, [the earl], as he was respect
fully attending upon him at his meals, used to say to him, " My
lord Edward 2 my service ;" and Edward was in the habit
of answering, being entirely ignorant that Simon was
thinking of the death which he was shortly afterwards to undergo
from the sword of the other.
About this time, Oliver, the venerable abbot of Driburgh, was
despatched to Edward, on the part of his sister, the queen of Scot
land ; and when his arrival was told to Simon, he conducted him
into the presence of Edward, leaving below and in solitude the
1 The bull by which Alexander IV. absolved the king from his oath to the
barons is printed in the Feed. i. 405, and on the next page occurs two other
documents connected with the same transaction.
2 Here the manuscript is slightly imperfect.
236 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1268.
canon by whom he had been accompanied, for at this time Edward
happened to be staying in a chamber upstairs. So Simon, pre-
ceeding the abbot, conducted him up the several flights of stairs,
until they reached that in which was the person to whom he had
been despatched. After they had saluted each other, they sat down
together, and talked in friendly manner; but all the while that
the interview lasted, Simon remained standing before them ; and
as he stood, he never once withdrew his eyes from them, but
watched them most attentively ; for he was apprehensive that some
letter would be delivered to Edward, or some dangerous communi
cation made to him on the part of those by whom the messenger
had been despatched. When they had conversed together as long
as they felt inclined, the abbot arose, and having .asked for per
mission to do so, he withdrew; but now he was followed by Simon,
who (as the abbot supposed) imagined that if he had gone in
advance, then some letter of treacherous import might have been
conveyed to Edward. The same apprehension influenced him as
he was conducting the abbot into Edward's presence, for then, as
has been remarked, he went in advance of the messenger ; for had
the abbot gone first, he might have privily dropped some letter,
the import of which might have been dangerous. But this piece of
precaution is scarce worth mentioning, when we have so many
other instances of greater acts of prudence.
I shall now make an end of speaking about Simon, whose life,
though it be not fully illustrated by my pen in matters of minute
detail and great difficulty, yet, in what I have said, I need not fear
either the reproach, the detraction, or the falsehood of the male
volent ; for I have written nothing about him which I have not
received from men whom I consider to be worthy of credit. If my
statements are not believed, neither will that of St. Augustine, who
tells us (in the eleventh chapter of the sixteenth book of his treatise
" Of the City of God ") that in his own time there was a man who
had two heads, two breasts, four hands, one stomach, and two feet ; —
nor will he give credence to Orosius, who speaks (in the eleventh
chapter of the seventh book of the " Ormetista1 Mundi ") of a boy
who had four feet, four hands, four eyes, as many ears, and was born
of a maiden ; — nor to Pliny, who tells, in his Natural History (Book
seven chapter five), about a boy, the child of a virgin, and whom the
soothsayers commanded to be carried to a desert island ; — nor to the
same authority, when he informs us (in the ninth chapter of the same
book) that an infant once returned into its mother's womb, and that
one woman in one day gave birth to seven children; — nor to Isidore,
who says (in the third chapter of the eleventh book of his Etymo
logy) that some men are born with teeth, some with beards, some
with grey hairs — that a woman produced a calf, and another a
serpent ; — nor to Pliny, when he affirms (as he does in the book
already cited) that an elephant gave birth to a serpent. We have
been constrained by the gainsayers to cite these examples against
themselves ; and I entreat them that no one of their number
henceforward play the backbiter, lest if he does, so he may happen
J Read Ormesta Mundi. See Cave, Hist. Lit. i. 394.
A. D. 1269.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 237
to experience some of those punishments which have already over
taken with a temporal death the adversaries of earl Simon. Simon
was descended from warlike ancestors, and was himself no dege
nerate imitator of those who had gone before him ; but he died in
battle, fighting on the side of justice ; as was the case with his
father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, and his two
immediate predecessors.
HERE ENDS THE TREATISE CONCERNING THE ILLUSTRIOUS
SIMON DE MONTFORT.
JOHN DE EDIRHAM, lord abbot of Melrose, resigned his office of
abbot, and was succeeded herein by Robert de Keldeleht, a monk
of Newbottle, who had previously been abbot of Dunfermline, and
chancellor of Scotland.
A.D. 1269. A very severe storm of wind drove out of his in
tended route that illustrious prince the king of France, at this time
on his way to the Holy Land. He was thus carried into the Sea of
Greece ; and when he landed, he discovered that he was in the
kingdom of Barbary, the king of which he subjugated ; and he then
laid siege to and took the metropolis, an important, warlike, and
populous city. Upon this city, called Tunis,1 and upon other of
the towns of that district, the king of France imposed the payment
of a large annual tribute. Its inhabitants worship One God the
Almighty, but not Three Persons ; and because they worshipped
One God, and did not observe the Jewish Law, they entreated the
French not to put them to death. There are two bishops within
that region. After the region of Barbary had thus been reduced to
the king of France, as the latter was returning homewards, in
company with the king of Navarre, both of them died on the road ;
David earl of Athol,2 also, died in that expedition. King Louis
was succeeded by his son Philip.
Albin, bishop of Brechin, died, and was succeeded by friar
William de Kilconcath, reader of the Friars Preachers of Perth.
The most pious king Louis, whom we have already mentioned,
built that most famous monastery of the Cistercian order, called
Regalis Mons. He did not, like the founders of other monasteries,
endow it with landed property, but he arranged that it should be
continually provided year by year, and at the most convenient
seasons, with uninterrupted supplies of wheat, wine, and all other
necessary commodities, which should be delivered by trustworthy
agents at the places best adapted for their reception. This he did,
in order that the monks of this place might entirely dedicate them
selves to the service of God, and wholly abstract themselves from
the world.
Wido, the lord abbot of Newbottle, resigned the government of
his house ; over which was placed Waldeve, a monk of Melrose,
who had been the cellarer of the same house.
Lora, countess of Athol, died, and was buried at Melrose. John
1 SeeFordim, ii. 101.
2 He died at Carthage on 6th Aug. Fordun, ibid.
238 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1270.
de Balliol died ; he was a lover of scholars, and out of his love
towards God, he built a house at Oxford, to each of the scholars of
which he made a weekly allowance of eight pence for their common
table. There is in the same place another house for scholars,
better than this last mentioned, where each scholar receives a
weekly payment of twelve pence for his commons, from the gift of
the bishop of Bath.
A. D. 1270. The lord Edward, the eldest son of the king of
England, and most accomplished knight and soldier, proceeded to
the Holy Land. On his arrival there, he took up his abode in
a tower in the city of Acre ; nor did he set foot outside that city,
to engage in any difficult exploit, save upon one solitary occasion,
when he was preceded by a Christian spy, who was of the sect of
the Suliani. These are Christians who reside, hermit-like, amongst
the Saracens ; and as they live in the wilderness, they are allowed
to continue unmolested. All hermits are held in high respect by
all kinds of Saracens and pagans, out of the honour which they
pay to that dweller in the wilderness, St. John the Baptist ; and
him they love and honour with the highest veneration, because it
was upon his festival that they gained their victory over the Chris
tians. Now, this Sulian had come to Acre, to intimate to Edward
that the inhabitants of a town called Caconia had gone out, accord
ing to the usage of that country, to feed their flocks and herds, and
that they had pitched their tents in some well-wooded districts.
The inhabitants of that town issue forth once a-year to enjoy them
selves in the open country ; and after they have had the benefit of
the fresh air, they all return homewards in one body. In his
advance towards the tents of these holiday-makers, which were
about three .days* march distant from Acre, Edward kept himself
concealed during the daylight in obscure or woody places, as he had
been instructed by the Sulian ; for he was apprehensive of the
multitude of the heathen, who would forthwith have crushed the
scanty body of Christians who were with him, for he was sup
ported only by a few of the pilgrims and some of the more influen -
tial inhabitants of Acre. He advanced by night marches, thereby
misleading the infidels, who did not know his route. By this plan
he arrived very early one morning at the spot ; and finding the
Saracens, their wives, and children in bed, he slew them all with
the edge of the sword, for they were the enemies of the faith of
Christ. After the slaughter, he drove off to Acre all their flocks
and herds, and removed all their baggage ; and of all the men who
accompanied him, he lost but one, and he was an esquire, named
Nicolas, who was in attendance upon a Scottish knight, called
Alexander de Setun. This esquire, (who was mounted,) had turned
aside from the main body of the Christians for a necessary purpose,
carrying with him on his back the shield belonging to his master ;
and he was immediately seized by a few unbelievers, who dwelt by
the roadside, whom, had the Christians noticed as they passed, —
which they did not, — they would have put to death. The esquire,
thus carried off, was never seen again by the Christians from that
day forward.
A.D. 1270.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 239
If that illustrious soldier, the lord Edward, had enjoyed the
assistance of the Christians, whom that traitor to our faith, Charles,
king of Sicily, the brother of Louis, king of the French, had with
drawn from him, he would have given ample proof of his knight
hood upon these heathen; for at that time he was the flower of
the chivalry of the whole world. But, through the instrumentality
of Charles, he had been defrauded of the help of several nations —
namely, of Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Italy ; for the avarice of the
other urged him to accept a countless treasure from the pagans,
before the arrival of Edward for their destruction. The money was
paid down upon these terms, that Charles would give the Saracens
the truce which they required, in order to prepare themselves
against the Christians. They asked for an armistice of fifteen years
for this purpose, and this was readily conceded by Charles ; and he
gave them, in writing and by oath, whatever amount of security
they pleased to ask. So the traitor Charles returned home, and
the treasure which he had thus wickedly obtained from the
unbelieving people was placed in a strong ship to follow him ; but
the vengeance of God decreed that as the ship was entering a safe
harbour, near a city which belonged to the Christians, while in the
very port, the vessel was suddenly engulfed in the sand, and nothing
whatever was saved out of this money of iniquity, although God's
mercy granted a safe deliverance to all the men who were on board,
all of whom escaped unhurt. And so the ship perished ; but let
Charles take care that he perish not eternally, if he be not in safety
within the ship of the church; for the ship of the church is the
unity of the church, from which unity, it would seem, that Charles
had entirely departed when he gave the preference to money
against Christ — over war against Christ's enemies, for Christ's
sake.
After this, that true treasure of Christ, the lord Edward, re
turned from the Holy Land, having abandoned the idea of warring
against the heathen, a thing which he could not carry on in con
sequence of the fewness of the number of the Christians. His
intention, however, was, that he would never return to his own
country, until he had, to the uttermost of his power, discomfited the
pagans, provided he could obtain the cooperation of the Christian
states. But having heard of the death of his worthy father, king
Henry, who had always wielded the sceptre of the kingdom of
England in peace and tranquillity, until he had been seduced (for
he was an unreasonable man, although religious) by evil coun
sellors, the chief of whom was his own wife, queen Eleanor, to
permit war to be waged against the barons of his kingdom,
Edward was of necessity compelled to return home, to succeed
as the lawful heir of the realm after his father, and as such to
be crowned.
Adam de Kilconcath, earl of Carrick, died at Acre, whose
widow, the countess of Carrick, afterwards married Robert de
Bruys the younger.
My pen willingly returns to that most valiant youth in the
whole world, that illustrious soldier for Christ, Edward ; for it
240 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1270.
would be improper were I to pass over in silence how, God
Almighty assisting him, he delivered himself from being killed by
a powerful Saracen. A section of the unbelieving nation of the
Saracens, who resided in the immediate neighbourhood of Acre,
understanding that lord Edward was one of the most illustrious of
all the soldiers of Christendom, despatched to him a certain
admiral, a man of great wealth and influence. Upon the arrival
of this pretended messenger, he presented many precious gifts in
addition to those of the same kind which he had already forwarded,
and earnestly prayed that Edward would admit to his friendship
and confidence such an insignificant personage as himself, for so he
designated himself, although really a man of importance. He
stated that he wished to disclose to Edward a secret which he
could not divulge unless he were first admitted to his secure pro
tection. He swore by God that his very soul's health was in
Edward's hands ; and he added, " I entreat you, suffer me not to
perish." The other, having no guile in his heart, answered by
saying that he would much rather that he and all the Saracens in
the world were saved, than that they should be lost, Hearing
this, the crafty deceiver fell down and kissed the knees, the hands,
and the feet of him who spoke to him thus kindly, declaring that
now he was far happier than he had ever been before, in being
permitted to see the son of so mighty a prince ; and he was loud
in proclaiming the praises of this king and his son, and he said
that there was not his equal in the whole earth, nor one so skilled
in tournaments, and so successful over his enemies in actual war
fare ; and he added that if the whole of the Christian world would
place him at their head, he would soon be conqueror of the uni
verse as well as of the Saracens. He extolled the Christians in
many ways ; and then he whispered in Edward's ear that he wished
to embrace our faith, " for this reason," said he, " because the
faith of the Christians excels every other religion in the glory of its
miracles." Edward was rejoiced at these words, and he replied by
saying, "It will indeed be a great blessing to you if you will be
baptized without delay, for it is part of our belief that whosoever
is not baptized shall perish everlastingly with the devil ; if, therefore,
you wish to be saved, hasten to baptism, since you do not know
the day of your death." The other answered, " Your advice is
good, for I do indeed wish to be be baptized : but I have a lawful
wife and many concubines, sons and daughters, kinsmen and rela
tives, and my desire is that all these should receive the baptism of
your holy faith along with myself ; I should wish, therefore, that
before I am baptized, I should discuss with them the nature of the
faith which I am about to accept/' Edward replied, " You would
do well, however, to make haste about your own baptism, for you
know not the hour of your death."
This admiral stood before Edward rejoicing, and being elated
with his success, he gesticulated as if he were a buffoon ; and then
asking permission to retire, the unhappy wretch withdrew, over
flowing with craftiness, frequently promising that he would lose
no opportunity of returning to enjoy his company, and to take
A.D. 1264.] CHRONICLE OF MELROSE. 241
recreation along with him ; and this he did, constantly sending, as
hitherto, large and splendid gifts and presents. Edward inquired
of him why he so long delayed his baptism, and his reply was, that
though he had obtained the consent of many of his friends for this
step, " yet not of all of them," (he said,) " but I hope to do so
ere long, by the assistance of the God of the faith of you
Christians."
Being upon these terms of mutual confidence, neither of them
entertained any apprehension with regard to the other ; and the
report of this their great friendship at last reached the ears of the
chief soldan of the Saracens. He sent for the admiral, and was
very suspicious that his intention was to betray, as far as he was
able, the whole of that nation, and when he had become a Chris
tian himself, to deliver his countrymen up to the Christians ; and
therefore he commanded him, as he valued his life and limbs, to
appear at court upon such a day and at such a place. So great is
the ceremonial which is there observed, that (as I was informed by
the esquire from whom I had the present narrative) all who enter
the palace for the transaction of any business with him, or to be
admitted to an audience, kneel once outside the door of the palace,
at the threshold; once more when they have come within the
palace ; they make a third genuflexion when they reach the middle
of the palace ; and when they come into his immediate presence,
they make a profound inclination to him, kneeling upon their
knees. The said admiral came, and made his obeisances as is the
custom of the country, and as others did. The sultan inquired if
he had become a Christian, and whether he had betrayed the
heathen faith to the son of the king of England. His reply was,
that he had rendered more efficient service to the prince for the
defence of their unbelief, than all the other pagans had done who
for a long time past had been labouring for the accomplishment of
that object. "And how? " said the soldan. The other replied,
" You are terribly afraid of that prince; but as for me, I have so
won him over by my numerous and splendid gifts, so cajoled him
with my presents, dealing herein with the greatest caution, that he
is entirely at my disposal ; and now nothing further remains to be
done with him, than to kill him whenever I please." And this
assuredly he would have done, had not the goodness of God
delivered this most religious Edward by his assistance. A few days
afterwards this treacherous admiral l
A.D. 1264. In this year there have elapsed from the foundation
of Melrose six score and seven years, and four score and twelve
years since the martyrdom of St. Thomas ; and since the capture of
William, king of Scotland, eighty-nine years ; and since the battle
of the Standard, five score and five years; and since the bull of
king Alexander, sixty-five years ; and at the festival of St. James
1 Here the narrative ends abruptly. The following short notices, nearly-
defaced, and not included in Fulman's edition, are transcribed from various folios
of the manuscript, in the margins of which they have been entered with a style,
probably as memoranda to be afterwards extended.
VOL. IV. R
242 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 12C4— 1275.
[25th July], the fifty-fourth year is completed since William, king
of Scots, gave his daughters ; and since the burning of Rokeberi
and Berwick, forty-seven years.
A.D. 1271. This was a sharp winter.
A.D. 1272. On the second of the kalends of April [20th
March], David,1 the son of king Alexander, was born, about the
first hour of the night, at . . .2
A.D. 1273. Richard, the lord abbot of K. ... llos, a man of
pious memory and holy conversation, died at Ware in England,
on the vigil of St. Dionysius [llth March], as he was returning
from the general chapter ; and upon Sunday, the first of April, his
body was buried with becoming reverence at Wardon. In his
place was appointed Andrew, the prior of Newbottle, formerly
prior of Pluscardin, of the order of . . . ; and on the eve of the
Epiphany [5th Jan.], he was admitted to the cure of souls at
K. . . . lie, and was installed in the choir there by the father-
abbot with great rejoicings.
A.D. 1275. Wallwus, the lord abbot of Newbottle, of pious
memory and holy conversation, going the way of all flesh, departed
happily to the Lord, leaving behind him that house in the most
perfect peace and in admirable condition, both as regards spiritual
matters and temporal. He died in the third year of his govern
ment, upon the third of the nones of February [3d Feb.], and his
body was buried upon the vigil of Agatha the virgin and martyr
[4th Feb.], with the honour due to a father-abbot.
1 His death in 1280 is mentioned by Fordun* ii 124 ; and Wyntown, i. 392.
2 The birthplace is not filled up in the MS.
END OF THE CHRONICLE OF MELROSE.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE
OP THE
WAR BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND THE SCOTS IN 1173 AND 1174.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE
OF THE
WAR BETWEEN" THE ENGLISH AND THE SCOTS IN 1173 AND 1174.
HEAR a true story (may God bless you !)
Of the best sovereign who was ever in life.
A fancy has taken me to make verses, it is right that I should tell
you them :
I hold him wise who corrects himself by others.
Gentle king of England, of the most bold courage,
At the coronation of your son do you not remember
That the homage from the hands of the king of Albany
You caused to be presented to him without having faith forsworn ?
Then you said to both : " May God curse those
10 Who would remove from you love or friendship !
Against all the people of the world, in strength and aid,
With my son remain, holding safe my lordship."
Afterwards between you and your son a deadly hatred sprung up,
Whence many a gentle knight has since lost his life,
Many a man has been unhorsed, many a saddle emptied,
Many a good buckler pierced, many a hauberk broken.
After this coronation and after this investiture
You niched from your son something of his lordship,
You took away from him his will ; he could not get possession:
20 Here grew war without love, the Lord God confound it !
A king of land without honour does not know well what to do :
The young sovereign did not know it, the gentle [and] good ;
When he could not accomplish his will on account of his father,
He thought in his mind that he would oppose him :
He went away secretly, passed a ford of Loire,
Till he came to Saint-Denis he would neither eat nor drink,
Told the king of France all his business.
They sent for him of Flanders,1 Philip the warrior,
And Matthew2 of Boulogne, that he should come with his brother.
30 Great was this meeting, you never saw greater.
King Lewis 3 of France was at Saint -Denis,
Wrongly was the war made against king Henry/
1 Philip of Flanders succeeded his father in 1168, and died at the siege of
Acre in 1191. See Art de ve>if. les Dates, iii. 11.
2 This Matthew became earl of Boulogne by his marriage with Mary, the
daughter of king Stephen, and died 25th July, 1173.
3 Louis VII., consecrated king of France Oct. 25, 1131.
4 This line is wanting in the Lincoln MS.
246 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
And held a great council of all his good friends ;
About the old king of England was he so thoughtful
(That) nearly by sorrow went out of his mind gentle king Lewis,
When the count of Flanders had raised his face,
And said to the king of France : "Be not so thoughtful.
You have great baronage, valiant and powerful,
To make great damage upon your enemies.
40 In all your land it would be wrong that any vassal should remain,
Who could bear arms, or might not be too old,
Not to make you oath on the body of Saint-Denis
That the war was wrongly made against king Henry."
Count Thibault 1 of France arose from his seat,
And said to the emperor where was his great baronage :
" Gentle king of Saint-Denis, rage seizes my body.
I am your liege -man by fealty and by homage,
I am quite ready to make war and to find a host ;
I will serve you forty days in the first rank,
50 And I will do to king Henry, I think, such damage
That it will not be repaired in all his life ;
He will not escape it anywhere in plain or wood,
If he give not back his heritage to his son the young king,
The kingdom of England, if he will act wisely.
You will leave him Normandy, if he appeases your wrath.
If there is anything mistaken and if I have said any too much,
Or anybody would prove it against me in his language,
Behold me here in your court ready to offer my gage.
This person is perjured to you, and seeks your shame.''
60 Already are of one accord the king and his barons,
And send messengers through many regions ;
King Henry they defy for those reasons,
Put the fair lands to great destruction.
In the month of April at Easter was the host of France summoned,
And they ride into the marches, they display their banners.
King Henry rides against them with spurs,
And had in his company ten thousand Brabencons
And many a gentle knight, Angevin and Gascon,
Who will cause to those of France ire and contention.
70 Very great was the host of France which Lewis brings.
To destroy the father the son takes very great pains,
When he has conquered and taken him in war he will lead him to
Saint -Denis ; 2
But the king his father had promised him something else,
That he shall see many a flag and many a horse of price,
Many a shield lined white and red and grey,
And many a joust made against his enemies,
Before he should be in battle a recreant and conquered.
The lord of England has in his heart a weight
Since his son makes war against him, whom he bred from infancy,
1 Thibault V. count of Blois and Champagne, died in 1191, at the siege of
Acres. See L'Art de verif. les Dates, ii. 618.
2 This line occurs only in the Lincoln MS.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 2'47
40 [And sees that those of Flanders have led him astray :
They promised him the land of the English for certain j]1
He would rather have died than lived that he (his son) should have
the power,
As long as he could strike with sword or lance.
He drew up his baronage with brave countenance ;
Goes against Lewis, the rich king of France,
Against the count Philip, of whom you hear talk,
And lord Matthew his brother, a knight of valour.
God helped much the father the day, when he advanced,
And showed a fair sign about his war ;
)0 For the helpers of his son, in whom his hope most was,
Were this day routed without any delay.
It was Matthew the warrior, on whom came the lance ;
King Henry shall have no more fear of him.
The count of Boulogne has received a mortal wound,
Down to his spurs of gold the red blood runs :
He shall never recover, much though he try.
The more his brother grieves, and the more he is dismayed himself ;
And swears his oath, the precious wound,
Never with king Henry he will be appeased.
)0 Now rides Lewis, so does the young king,
And Philip is put in great disarray.
The count Thibault of France shows great pride.
Soon king Henry shall know where to move himself :
The French raise war against him, the Flemings and the Capei,2
The earl of Leicester,3 and there are also all his three sons.
He of Tancarville * in truth does not love him ;
One hundred knights at arms he brings in his retinue,
Who all threaten to put him in such a disarray
They will not leave him of land the worth of a palfrey.
10 Lords, by my troth, much marvel is there
Why his vassals desire so to deal with him,
[He who was] the most honourable and conquering
That was in any land since the time of Moses,
Except only king Charles, whose power was great
Through the twelve companions Oliver and Roland.
One has never heard in fable or in story
Of one single king of his valour and great power.
Although they all come threatening him, he swears by his head
He will not cease to hawk by the river side or to hunt his beast.
JO Now rides the count Philip with his great host,
And wastes Normandy by wood and plain.
You would never have heard king Henry once complain of it,
Nor ever seek occasion to stop the war.
Much had the young king done, who bathes himself so well ;
Still he has in his command the barons of Britany.
1 These two lines are wanting in the Lincoln MS.
2 The people of a place of Vermandois, which then belonged to the con lit of
Flanders. 3 Dugd. Baron, i. 87.
4 William, the son of Rabel cle Tancarville.
248 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
When the father heard it, he was sorry and angry,
And swears his oath that wrongly it was ever thought,
And said to his knights : " Lords, now hear me.
Never in my life was I so sorry.
130 Rage seizes my body, I am nearly mad.
The barons of Britany have already opposed rne ;
To those who hate me to death they have abandoned themselves,
To king Lewis of France and to my eldest son,
Who come disinheriting me of what I possess.
He would rob me of my land and fiefs and heritages.
I am not so old, people know that enough,
That I should lose land on account of my great age.
With the still moon watch to-night,
In order that neither the Flemings nor the natives of the land be
in ambush.
140 The barons of Britany, you know it well enough,
As far as Finistere, are in my power ;
But Raoul of Fougeres 1 has against me rebelled,
The earl Hugh 2 of Chester is bound to him :
I will not fail to see them for the cost of fine and pure gold,
If I could find them in their fortresses ;
And since our enemies are so confident,
Then it is well to invade them with a great hatred.
Craft is better than war against outlaws,
Than bad assault, if they are discouraged."
150 His baronage replies : " You are full of goodness.
All your enemies are entered into a bad year.
Yours is the land, so defend it ;
Wrongly wars against you your son."
Now behold these knights gone down from the palace ;
And go to seize their arms quickly and forthwith,
Put on their hauberks and breastplates, lace their ornamented helms,
Take by the handles the Vianese shields.
Then you might hear the old king Henry call God to witness :
" Wrongly will the traitors have met me in the stubble-fields.'
160 From the town are issued knights in array,
Less than sixty 3 thousand and more than sixty-three ;
There is none of them who does not think himself as good as a
Welsh king.
Now rides king Henry with all his host,
Towards Dol in Britany he holds his way.
And said to William 4 of Humet, when he was in the expedition :
" Let us not talk of delay : behold their country.
Those of the castle have already seen William and his banner,
And see that the Braba^ons come all in the rear.
See the Norman host who will make us retreat.
170 Normans are good conquerors, there is nobody like them :
Everywhere we find it in story that Normans are victors.
1 He succeeded his father in 1154, and died in 1196. L'Art, ii. 897.
2 Dugd. Baron, i. 40. 3 In the Lincoln MS. " thirty thousand."
4 Dugd. Baron, i. 631.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 249
Think of it, Sir Raoul, for the company is fierce.
The young king who wars against his father has betrayed us,
When he left the ways to be on the river.
I see no means how we can defend [ourselves] ;
They will receive neither silver nor gold, prayer will nought avail us."
Raoul answers to this : " Folly has no business here,
Nor jest, nor joking, nor any levity ;
But whoso knows good counsel, let him come forward and say it.
;0 We have no fear to lose either life or limb.
The old king conducts himself with very great folly,
When he of Britany demands the seigniory.1
Threatens us for his possessions and his lands
But he shall not go as his pride guides him.
Such a counsel now let us take, without strife of anger,
That we be not to-day dishonoured, nor the land misgoverned.
This castle is not strong : let us not trust to it ;
Let us go out against [them], so we will assail them."
Then they charged each other in the middle of the plain,
)0 Lord William of Humet and those of his company.
There is no knight of value who does not break there his lance.
Whoever would joust against a companion, soon found there his
match.
By force were driven together the barons of Britany
Into their very fortresses ; there is none who does not then com
plain of it.
By force was in his castle lord Raoul of Fougeres,
Hugh the earl of Chester proclaims himself a miserable sinner ;
Neither mangonel nor stonebow wras able to serve them.
The war which they have made shall be sold them dear,
For now goes a messenger to king Henry the father,
)0 To Rouen in Normandy on a black horse used to rivers ;
And told him what had happened to his fierce people,
To the earl of Chester, to Raoul of Fougeres.
Then he praises God the glorious and the glorious saint Peter :
" Discomfited are my enemies : alas that I was not there ! "
He gets ready his baronage, in which he trusts much ;
Towards Dol in Britany he has taken his way ;
But when he was come there with his knights,
Joyous he boasts of the fact to his followers.
Those who were in the castle did not rejoice at all,
10 They much fear his coming and dread his power ;
They had not victuals enough to sustain their life,
They have surrendered themselves to king Henry, he holds them
in his power.
" Lords," quoth king Henry, " now counsel me :
My son is in the wrong towards me, it is meet that you know it ;
For rent perforce he will have from my estates :
Reason, I think, there is none why it should be paid to him.
From a man of my power it is not to be thus extracted :
And that which is by force taken or gained
1 This line does not occur in the Durham MS.
250 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Is nor right nor reasonable, so it is often judged.
220 To guard my franchise I am enough ill-treated,
And by those of Flanders often annoyed ;
So we do not want more to be damaged.
You all together, lords, I pray that you aid me ;
In pitched battle your strength essay,
With all your might for me strive :
Never you loved me, if at need you fail me.
Earl Hugh of Chester along with you take.
On Raoul of Fougeres I will execute my will ;
I will leave him quite free within his estates,
230 By this condition that he be my liege.
If afterwards against me he rebels by any iniquity,
He shall hold in Britany neither estates nor heritages.
Arm, lords, your bodies ; ride quickly :
My son is quite ready for the battle.
The rent he demands, let us pay it with our swords
And with keen brands and pointed darts/'
For this news many are joyous and glad :
They are the knights the valiant and polite ;
And the earl of Chester is grieved and wroth,
240 Nor hopes in his life to be disimprisoned.
Frightened are the French at the fierce tidings
The heart of the bravest trembles and staggers ;
But he comforts them who leads them on.
Ire he has in his heart, his blood boils.
For counsel he goes to his most loyal men,
In romance he dictates a letter, with a ring seals it ;
The messengers of the young king before him he calls :
It was king Lewis who gave the message.
Depart the messengers who bear the letters,
250 They pass the salt sea, the kingdoms traverse ;
The forests, the plains, the dangerous fords they pass,
They come to Scotland and the king they find,
On the part of the young king Henry the writings present.
Now shall you hear the words which there were written :
" To the king of Scotland, William,1 the best,
To whom our lineage was formerly ancestor.
The king Henry the young sends you by love,
You must remember me who am your lord.
It seems to me very marvellous, and I have fear in the heart,
260 Of so rich a king, of a man of thy valour,
Who has such strength of people and such vigour in himself,
That you will not help me in war, if you like, at first,
To war against my father, thou arid thy counts.
I will give thee the land which thy ancestors had,
Thou never hadst from a king so great an estate in land,
The land beyond Tyne, under the heavens I do not know a better,
You shall have the lordship in castle and in tower ;
We will give you Carlisle, that you may be stronger,
1 "William the Lion, who succeeded to the throne 24th Dec. 1165.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 251
All Westmoreland without any contradiction,
0 That you help me with strength and readiness.
Drive away those who hold these lands."
Now has the king of Scotland in his heart great sorrow
When he hears the command of the young king,
That he owes to him his homage against all people ;
On the other hand he sends him greeting as to a relation,
That he will give him his land which belongs to his estate,
Which all the kings of Scotland held in their life -time ;
And to the old king his father he owes likewise
Homage and service, allegiance true.
}0 It is not right that for promise he should act so boldly
That he should knowingly destroy the land of the old king,
Before he has claimed his inheritance.
If he means to contradict him, then let him do his pleasure,
Let him render his homage without pretext ;
And when he has rendered it to him, and if he takes it well,
Let him in any court deny the covenant ;
For the will of the prince is held as judgment.
Then held king William his plenary parliament ;
From the sages of his land he wished to have counsel,
)0 If he should to the young king keep his oath.
There is none to contradict him or to forbid him.
The king goes to consult with his baronage,
Tells them the news which they heard of the king :
The young one of England, who wars against his father,
Asks him for the land ; but he still refuses it.
" I will tell by messengers the father, in Normandy,
That he must give me back a part of my inheritance :
That is Northumberland, which he holds in his power ;
And if he will not do so and refuses it quite,
)0 I owe him in future neither fealty nor friendship."
Answers earl Duncan,1 and says as a baron :
" The old king is reasonable, so let him have his right ;
Do not seek any opportunity of committing an outrage.
If he likes, you must serve him as his liege-man :
Let him restore you your rights without any subterfuge,
Then you will come to succour him with all speed.
Fair word exhibited by reason is better
Than threatening in asking for any gift ;
And whoever does otherwise, seeks destruction,
10 His own death and his damage and his confusion/
Earl Duncan has spoken very wisely ;
There is nobody who contradicts him, to my knowledge.
Then said the king himself, the barons and the people :
" This counsel is loyal, and it pleases me.
Let us send our messengers with this mandate,
And let them do their duty like valiant chevaliers."
The messengers go, their horses they spur,
They slacken their reins on the great paved roads.
1 Duncan II. earl of Fife.
252 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
The horses are very good, which spring beneath them.
320 They come to Normandy, they do not stay long ;
Find the old king Henry, address him wisely,
From the king of Scotland their letters then they give him.
Friar William Dolepene l speaks the first,
And said to the king of England : " I am a messenger,
From the king of Scotland I come to inform you :
He is your relation, therefore you must love him much ;
He will serve you in this business, you will not see him delay,
With a thousand knights armed, before an entire month elapses,
With thirty thousand unarmed (so I have heard them reckoned),
330 Who will give your enemies wonderful trouble.
He will not ask the value of a penny from you,
So that you will grant him his rights :
That is Northumberland which he requires first of all,
For nobody has such great reason to challenge it as he has.
Now you see me here in your court, I do not require any future time,
I will leave it to be decided by a single knight ;
And if you will not do it, in order to disinherit him,
Here I return you his homage, I do not seek to conceal it from you."
When the king of England hears the message
340 Of his cousin of Scotland, of his intention,
He says to his messenger that he will do nothing ;
He does not require, on answering, either stranger or relation :
" Tell the king of Scotland that I am not afraid
Of any war I may have with my son at present,
Neither of the king of France, nor of his people,
Nor the count of Flanders who assails me often.
I will make them enraged and sorry for their war,
And I will give him annoyance, if God allows it me ;
But tell his brother, David,3 my relation,
350 To come and help me with as many people as he has :
I will give him as much land and as many estates
As to execute all his demands to his satisfaction/'
— " Sire," quoth the messenger, " I make a covenant with you for it;
But give us leave to go in safety."
Then the messengers set out from Normandy,
Find a good passage, do not delay there,
They traverse England, they come to Albany.
The messengers are wise, they do not care about amusement,
Meet with nobody who does them harm or says any thing bad
360 From the sea of Dover as far as Orkney.
Soon they will tell such a word of war with rage
For which they also shall weep who have not heard it :
" Sire king of Scotland, God save thy baronage,
Thy body and thy courage and thy great retinue !
From the king of England I return as a messenger :
1 " Dolipene," MS. Lincoln. If it were lawful to hazard a conjecture, it
would seem that here we ought to read D'Olifent.
2 David, earl of Huntingdon, was brother of William the Lion. See Dugd.
Baron, i. 609.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 253
Now hear his mandate, do not make light of it :
He marvels much at you, that you have madness in your body ;
He considered you a wise man, not of a childish age,
As one whom he loved best, without showing any injury.
You should not have required from him such an outrageous
deed :
) You ask him for his land as your inheritance,
As if he were imprisoned as a bird in a cage.
He is neither a fugitive from the land nor become a savage,
But he is king of England in the plains and the woods.
He will not give you for his need in this first stage
Increase of land, this is in his language ;
But will see whether you will show him love and relationship,
How you will behave, as foolish or wise."
Then you might hear those knights, the people young and wild,
0 Swear a strong oath and exhibit courage :
" If you do not war against this king who beards you so,
You must hold neither land nor any lordship ;
But must serve the son of Matilda in bondage."
Now the king of Scotland hears that his people oppose him ;
He had not Engelram l the bishop, the best of his clergy,
Nor earl Waltheof 2 does not venture
To counsel war (he well sees that it is folly),
So that the king himself often opposes him
By the suggestion of those who love folly ;
0 And swears his oath, " God the son of Mary :
The war will not the less take place because of your cowardice.
You have enough in treasure, goods and property :
Defend your land and seek aid for you ;
And, if you will not do so, in all your life
You shall not have of my land the value of a clove of garlick."
Thus answers him the earl : " Restrain this inclination :
I am your liege-man, so were my relations.
We know nothing of war : therefore I fear.
To begin strife there must be deliberation :
'0 You should not trust to foolish enticement,
Nor put faith in the folly of foreign people.
If good can come to you, they will often gain ,
They will not lose much, if it turns out unfortunately for you.
The peasant says in proverb, and says very truly:
' He injures who cannot aid, when the trial comes on.'
Do not imagine that I say it through any fear,
Nor that I shall fail you in war as long as I am living."
When this counsel was given, the king did not heed it :
The war will still take place, though Albany were lost ;
0 But he wishes to send beyond the sea a spy
To see the situation of the father in Normandy ;
And then afterwards to Flanders, to the son, in whom he trusts,
His letters and messages, to tell him loudly :
1 Engelram, bishop of Glasgow. Keith's Scottish Bishops, p. 233.
2 Waltheof, earl of Dunbar, died in 1182. Chronicle of Melrose, ad an.
254 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
" How the king his father by word opposes me
And by'such a menace as you have heard ;
And if he will keep covenant by pledged faith,
I will not fail to give him aid speedily.
So let him send us from Flanders his Flemings with a navy,
By hundreds and by fifties of those bold people :
420 I will give them the road to the people who war against us.
They will attack the castles by regular siege.
" William de Saint-Michel will deliver this message,
And Robert de Husevile ; for both are wise :
They have often given proof of ability in need,
They well know in rich court to speak many a language/'
To do .this message depart these messengers ;
The king desires it and it is his pleasure, so they do it most willingly.
At Berwick-on-Tyne1 they find the boatmen,
Who will take to Flanders the wise messengers.
430 Already they have entered barges, and go on the high sea,
And hoist up their sails, and cause the anchor to be weighed ;
They do not care to coast along England :
They are their mortal enemies, whom they used to love.
When these knights have found their lord
With the king of France, Lewis the emperor,
They deliver their messages gently and without anger,
So that the counts of France hear it well ;
And count Philip is put in such emotion,
The noble warrior speaks before the others.
440 Now speaks count Philip a sensible speech,
Before the court of France ; it was very well heard :
' ' Keep to the king of Scotland the pledged faith ;
That he may aid you in war, hastily, without delay ;
Destroy your enemies and waste their country,
That by fire and conflagration all may be kindled ;
That he may leave them nothing without, either in forest orin meadow,
Of which they may in the morning have a dinner ;
Then let him besiege their castles with his assembled people :
They shall have no succour nor aid within thirteen leagues.
450 " Thus war should be begun, such is my opinion :
First to destroy the land and then one's enemy.
We will help him from Flanders ere fifteen days come,
By which those of England will be disabled."
, As soon as count Philip finished his attack,
'King Lewis of France wills it and agrees to it ;
And says to our messengers : " Soon shall be sealed
The charter that you will take to your country.
Tell the king of Scotland, without any delay,
The land is all his own which he has demanded."
460 When these messengers had come and reached the land,
Then were they quite certain of beginning the war.
Enough you might hear without going far :
" Let us go to take the castle of Wark in England."
1 Fantome here blunders ; read Berwick-on-Tweed.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 255
Never was born a man so memorable,
Neither Solomon the wise, nor David who wrote the history,
Who did not glory in having such a great victory
As these promised him ; but all was vain glory.
Now has the king of Scotland his host prepared
At Caldenle,1 there they were assembled.
I The trumpets were what then were loved,
Which afterwards drove them from the land by force.
From Ross and from Moray they have a great host gathered.
Certainly, earl Colbein2 did not forget himself there.
Lords, the earl of Angus3 came there with such aid,
More than three thousand Scots he had in his command.
There were so many naked people, I know not what more to tell you,
There carne not such a host from Scotland since the time of Elias.
Then came king William to Wark in England,
A castle in the marches which afterwards made him great war,
) Labour and trouble, and often great opposition ;
He inquired from the constable what he meant to do,
Either to hold or give up, which he thought proper.
Roger d'Estutevile 4 was its constable,
Who never liked treason nor to serve the devil ;
And saw that his power was of no avail
Against the host of Scotland, which besieges them strongly,
Neither to surrender his castle he should have any terms :
It was no marvel if lord Roger were dismayed.
Then he prays to God the glorious and his mother true :
) " Such counsel give me that I may preserve my honour,
For the Scots war against me without any respite."
Roger d'Estutevile speaks to his intimate friends,
And says : " Barons, knights, say what you recommend.
See the host of the king of Scotland who has defied us ;
And we shall be scorned within these holds,
We shall have no succour nor help from any of our neighbours."
Then he invokes his lord, Henry the valiant king ;
The tears along his face go falling down :
" Evil was your strength, since now you are powerless !
) You cannot aid your baron in any way whatever.
I will go to the king of Scotland, asking for a truce,
Forty days space, that I may pass the sea.
If then I cannot succour myself afterwards by right,
You have lost without fail all Northumberland."
Roger d'Estutevile came to speak to the king,
Wise with humility, [and] without doing anything wrong ;
All those of his suite kept themselves in ranks,
1 In MS. Lincoln, Kaledene de gre", which is apparently an error. There is a
place in Selkirkshire called Caldenlea, where the Calclen falls into the Tweed, and
this is most probably the place meant.
2 Probably Colban, earl of Fife.
3 Gilibrede, second earl of Angus. Dougl. Peerage of Scotland, i. 62.
4 Not mentioned in Dugdale's Baronage; but his name occurs as sheriff of
Northumberland from 1170 to 1185 inclusive, in the Pipe Roll for that county,
printed by Hodgson.
256 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
And says in his address : " Sire, listen to me.
" Do not do me shame, refrain your ire.
510 Much do I love your welfare, but let not mine suffer.
Forty days space, that I may pass the sea, [give me,] sire,
That I may send beyond sea my letters under wax ;
Or I myself will go there, whichever I please to choose,
And will say to my lord it would be wrong to sing or laugh :
If Jesus does not take care of the people of his empire,
He will not see them, for they will be all delivered to martyrdom,"
Then saw king William Roger in great sorrow,
All Northumberland harassed with woe ;
There is none to oppose him or his vigour :
520 Willingly did he grant the space till the fortieth day.
Now says Jordan Fantosme l that God protected them :
All those of Northumberland who were there,
Were it not for this truce which Roger asked,
Would have been driven from the land by those of Albany;
But the wise knight who loved his lord
Prepares his messengers, he accoutred himself,
Went to England, asked for help,
So that within his term such a host he brought
That then to the king of Scotland full leave he gave
530 To attack him with his Flemings, and he will wait for them.
Then says king William : " Hear, my knights.
Throughout Northumberland I will take my way :
There is no one to oppose us, whom should we then fear ?
The bishop of Durham 2 (behold his messenger)
Informs me by his letters he wishes to remain at peace :
Neither from him nor his forces shall we have disturbance,
Of which I can complain to the value of a penny.
Let us go to Alnwick, if you will allow me,
To William de Vesci 3 whom I cannot overcome.
540 If he will give up his father's castle to me,
I will then let him go without loss of limb ;
Or if he will make with me the same agreement
Which the constable of Wark made the day before yesterday,
Without collecting ammunition and without fortifying anything.
Let us go to Warkworth, that I will destroy."
Then the great host of Albany went to Alnwick ;
But William de Vesci did not forget himself there,
Often calls with love the aid of the Holy Father,
He invokes his lord more than a knight his mistress,
550 And says : " Barons, knights," to those of his bailiwick,
" Wisdom and folly are often good at need :
Now come each of you, tell us your opinion about this,
How we shall manage against the host which defies us."
Much was the father joyous in his heart
To have begotten a good son, though it was in concubinage :
1 Fantome, MS. Lincoln. 2 Hugh de Pudsy.
3 William de Vesci was lord of the castles of Alnwick and Warkworth, both in
Northumberland. See Dugd. Baron, i. 92.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 257
Of young William I say it in my language,
Who his father's castle held by vassalage.
The king departed then, made no longer stay there ;
And the former sent for succour his letters and his messenger.
) Knights and Serjeants and the other pillagers
Take and destroy the land next the sea.
They come to Warkworth, do not deign to stop there ;
For weak was the castle, the wall and the trench.
And Roger l the son of Richard, a valiant knight,
Had had it in ward ; but he could not guard it.
Of this Roger the son of Richard I must certainly tell you :
Of Newcastle- on -Tyne was he master and lord ;
He was seized with such boldness and great ire
That he would neither speak of peace to the king of Scotland nor
laugh.
D Thither came the king of Scotland with armed people and naked ;
The hills and the valleys dread his coming.
A greater folly than his never was seen,
To the barons of the land it will be very dearly sold :
He will give them, before his departure, such a discomfiture
He will not leave them outside the castle an ox to their plough.
But the barons are devoted to their lord,
They care as little for their property as does a wild beast ;
They prefer dying with honour rather than suffer shame
[And] abandon their natural lord, though they lose their lands.
0 They will endure and wait : they do so wisely ;
But they will not surrender their castles though they suffered great
damage.
Well sees the king of Scotland that he will never succeed
In conquering Newcastle -on -Tyne without stratagem ;
And say his counsellors : " Wrongly do you hang your head.
[Before succour comes to them, they all will be in despair ;] a
But warn the host to be ready in the morning ;
Go conquer Carlisle, of which we spoke.
[Robert de Vaus 3 will never have such a good sable,
Nor eat meat, nor drink such wine,
0 When he sees so many fine shields, so many Poitevin helmets.,
But he will wish to be a bishop on the chess-board/']
Thus said king William : " Then may I be cursed,
Excommunicated by priest, shamed and discomfited,
If to the castle of Odinel 4 I give any terms or respite !
But I will entirely put an end to his joy and his delight.
Earl Henry 5 my father loved and reared him ;
But at length he will say that it was a misfortune to see me,
1 This baron is often mentioned in the Pipe Rolls, 14 Hen. II. Concerning
him, see Hodgson's Magnus Rotulus Pipse, pp. xii. xiv.
2 This line is wanting in the Lincoln MS., as are also lines 588—591.
3 See concerning him, Dugd. Baron, i. 525.
4 Odinel de Umfraville's castle was that of Prudhoe in Northumberland.
Dugd. Baron, i. 504.
5 Henry, the father of king William, was the son of David I., king of
Scotland.
VOL. IV. S
258 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
For he in whom he trusts will be of a very little use to him.
[He makes him a refusal of his assistance."] l
GOO There the king of Scotland made his earls, his barons,
Pitch his pavilions, his tents and his marquees ;
And said to his baronage : " Lords, what shall we do there ?
As long as Prudhoe stands, we will never have peace."
Thus say the Flemings : " We will destroy it,
Or wrongly you will give us pay and provisions."
And said the other party : " Never will we speak of it,
We will never consent to his making any enterprise ;
But let him go forward to conquer, and we will help him.
Northumberland is ours, when we come back."
610 — " Sire, king of Scotland," say his counsellors,
" Of all your rights Carlisle is the most difficult [to secure] ;
And since the young king is willing to give you all,
Go and conquer the capital, we advise you thus ;
And if Robert de Vaus will not give the chief town,
From the old high tower you must have him thrown.
Lay siege to it, and then make your great assembled host
To swear not to stir from it
Till you have seen the city on fire,
The master-wall pulled down with your pickaxes of steel,
620 Himself fastened to a high gallows.
Then you will see Robert de Vaus slinking away ;
As far as I know, you will not find him so bold
That he will be able to resist you long by force."
And said king William : " If God will aid us,
This counsel is advisable, so let us execute it."
In the night he makes his watchmen watch his host,
Till the following morning at dawn when the day appeared clear.
When he made his trumpets sound to put the host in motion ;
And the Serjeants and esquires take down the tents.
630 King William goes with his great baronage ;
But before they return to their wild country,
They will have made such damage among the English of England
That a thousand will leave their heads there for their own hostage
For they are fierce in war and of very rash courage :
This is quite evident to those whom they find in their way.
Those who are caught in plain or in wood
Will never tell stories to any of their lineage.
Well knew the king of Scotland to make war upon his enemies
And often in war to grieve and injure [them] ;
640 But he was too much accustomed to listen to new advice.
He cherished, loved and held foreigners dear ;
His own people he would never love,
Who should of right advise him and his kingdom
This appeared soon, presently you shall hear me speak of it,
What happened of his war through evil counsellors.
The king makes his people get ready ;
To those within he will give a complete assault.
1 Omitted in the Lincoln MS.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 259
Great was the noise at the beginning of the fight,
The swords clash, and the steel crashes,
) [Scarcely a hauberk or helmet remained whole.] l
That day those within were knights,
With their swords they make many a shield shattered,
fhey leave many of them stretched near the wall
Who had no leisure to get up again.
Henceforth those within must help [themselves],
Endure the battle and damage the shields,
Hold and contend for their barbican :
No coward could be useful to them.
At the gate there was a great attack,
) On both sides great was the fury.
Then you might see so many bleeding knights,
So many good vassals in bad humour ;
The swords clash and intermingle.
Robert de Vans defended himself bravely ;
The son of Odard 2 was not at all behindhand,
For his lord he behaved himself most daringly
In standing against so many people :
Forty thousand, if Fantosme 3 does not lie.
There is none who does not hate him mortally.
> Oh ! God ! what sorrow for gentle king William !
From king Henry he will have such mortal blame ;
This grieves me, by the illustrious saint James !
For a nobler man never governed a realm.
Fantosme says and assures to us well
That he would not think any day of his life
To fight Henry of Normandy,
The son of Matilda who has the hardy countenance ;
But by counsel and by evil envy
One may make a wise man commit a great folly,
i But since he had undertaken the thing thus,
He could not leave it so through great cowardice.
He orders peace to be kept towards the holy church,
On those who infringe it he executes cruel justice ;
But that is not worth to him a single clove of garlic :
The rascally people, (whom may the Lord God curse !)
The Welsh, who wish for booty,
And the Scots, who are in Albany,
Have no faith in God the Son of Mary ;
They break open the churches and commit great robberies.
1 The barons put themselves to great trouble
Who held their estates from the sovereign king ;
For their lord they have great sorrow certainly :
His enemies have given them a present.
If God and Mary Magdalen do not think of it,
Great war they will have which will be very severe to them.
, * This line is wanting in the Lincoln MS.
2 John Fitz-Odard is mentioned in the Northumberland Pipe Roll, 14 Hen. II.
See Hodgson's Magnus Rotulus Pipse, p. xiv. 3 " Fantome " MS. Lincoln.
s 2
260 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
The land which was so full of such prosperity
Is now spoiled and destitute of all riches ;
There is no drink but spring water
Where they used to have beer in the week.
700 And all is done by the king of Albany,
By his counsel and by his great folly ;
But now there arises to him great loss infallibly,
He will not depart without having shame.
Those of the castle will have speedy aid :
So fares it with people who in the Lord God trust.
Hear, lords, what happens from too great daring,
What happened to them from savage Scotland.
Fine was the weather without any bad storm ;
The king of Scotland was of bold courage,
710 Good knight and of great valour.
Before him came wandering a messenger,
A canon was he, and knew the language ;
Hastily he related to him his complaint.
The king was in his pavilion ;
The warders near and around,
His chamberlains and his private friends,
There where the messenger delivered to them such a speech
By which they were afterwards excited to contention.
The messenger told them the whole,
720 How he had seen the armed people,
The great pride of the chevaliers
Who would assault him before sunrise.
" He of Lucy, the wise, the sensible,
Before midnight will be joined with our men.
Take care thereof, for God of majesty,
That you are not disgraced nor shamed.
All the best of your relations
Come with him, every one has sworn to him.
Trust to advice, the best is given to you.
730 To Roxburgh go in safety.
If you delay any longer,
A bad song will be sung of you.
Never did Thibault de Balesgue l give
1 " The romance, to which Fantosme alludes here, was well known in England.
In a certificate or memoir concerning some books found, in the third year of
Edward I.'s reign, we find this mention of it: 'Le Romaunce Willeame de
Orenges et Tabaud de Arable.' Formulare Anglicanum, p. 12, No. xxiii. A copy
of it was bequeathed by Guy Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, to the abbey of
Bordesley in Worcestershire, May 1st, 34 Edward I. or III. See our Tristan,
vol. i. p. cxxi. 1. 2.
" Fantosme' s allusion, and the following lines taken from a poem of the twelfth
century, show its antiquity :
Mais une merveille veoit
Qui po'ist faire grant paor
Au plus hardi combateor
De toz ices que nos savons,
Se fust Thiebauz li Esclavons
Ou Opiniax ou Fernaguz, etc.
(Le Roman d'Erec et d'Enide, MS. of the Royal Library, No. 74984, Cange", 26, fol.
41 verso, col. 2. 1. 26.)"— Michel's Note.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 261
So bad a check to the natives of France
As those hardened ones of the south will give you,
If you and they encounter each other/'
The king hears him, and is very angry,
Without delay swore by saint Andrew :
" We stop here quite secure ;
) Battle will not be refused them.
A brave man ought certainly to conquer his inheritance.
My ancestors of the kingdom of Scotland
Held that estate in quietness.
By this Lord whom they implore on foot !
And I will hold it from the king to whom I am pledged,
The son of the father who has given me my rights ;
As long as I live I will not lose a single foot of it."
He would have already well addressed his host,
When a counsel is given him by his men :
) As he wished to be still honoured,
He should leave the siege and depart of his own free will.
So he did indeed, nor stayed longer there,
By none of his men were the reins drawn.
To Roxburgh, where they were before,
He went by night like one who was in haste ;
Not a single one of his host lagged behind,
Who did not go away through very great cowardice,
Without any attack having been made upon them
• Or being shouted at or damaged in any thing.
) Robert de Vaus gained in this chase,
He earned great wealth from these fugitives ;
But, whoever is sorry for it or bears any ill will to him,
He will strengthen his place with their property.
Bends his foot and extends his talons,
Thanks God and prays that He will not hate him.
Now the great host of England rides secure.
Sir Richard de Lucy, no better needs be sought for,
Well assists his lord to maintain his war,
And he knows at need to ask for truces and peace
) Where he sees force and it is necessary to ask for them.
He rides in the land destroyed and wasted :
That is Northumberland which was already renowned.
From here to the passes of Spain there was not such a country
Nor more fruitful, nor people more honoured ;
Now it is in great famine, it has become annihilated,
If by the king of England aid is not given.
He sighs and thinks how it is decayed,
And curses the war for having already begun ;
Then he thinks in his heart, if the Lord God pleases,
) By him and his forces it will be soon avenged,
And by the good men who are of the country,
Who desire greatly to revenge their sufferings.
Sir Humphrey de Bohun l was of very great cleverness,
1 See Dugd. Baron, i. 179.
262 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND
As soon as he can spur he goes from the chief-justice :
It is lord Richard de Lucy whom every body prizes.
He did not wish to provoke the king of Scotland in any way,
For a messenger of his tells him news :
He had come to the land, who will lay siege to them.
The earl of Leicester has thus undertaken the thing
790 With Flemings and with French and with people towards Friseland,
He will turn England wholly at his command.
" God I" quoth Richard de Lucy, " what great distress I am in !
If the king of Scotland knew what is doing,
We should have neither peace nor truce for all the wealth of France ;
And he ought not to do it, unless he were a great child."
He rides and spurs, and has in his heart heaviness ;
But before he could succeed to speak in the hearing
Of the king of Albany or do his business
Had lord Humphrey de Bohun who boldly advances
800 Caused to the king of Scotland the loss of Berwick.
Lord Humphrey de Bohun was of very great consequence ;
The barons of Northumberland are his companions in it ;
They burnt all Berwick with fire and firebrands
And a great part of the surrounding country,
For they appear in their marches cruel as lions ;
But lord Richard de Lucy does not care for such speech.
And says in his language : " Sir Humphrey de Bohun,
[The barons of Northumberland are his companions in it] *
Ah ! if God does not take care, we shall certainly lose.
810 " Sir Humphrey de Bohun/' quoth Richard de Lucy,
[Who did not go away through very great cowardice,
Without any attack having been made upon them
Or being shouted at or damaged in any thing.
Robert de Vaus gained in this chase] 2
" Let us go to the king of Scotland to cry him mercy
To hold peace and truce to our king Henry.
The most of England have all failed him.
; Know you the news that we have heard ?
The earl of Leicester has ill-treated us all ;
820 He has arrived in North Wales,3 you may be certain of it,
And has taxed the land as if he was sheriff of it,
As far as Dunwich by force he got it."
Now is Humphrey de Bohun angry in his heart :
" Sir Richard de Lucy, your age will now appear;
And if you are now, as they say, so wise,
Go in haste to the king of Scotland, conceal from him this damage.
If he knows this news he will be of a very fierce courage.
That the earl has arrived and succeeded in passing,
He will not give you his truce, unless he has madness in his body;
j l This line, evidently a repetition of line 802, does not occur in the Lincoln MS.
2 Another careless repetition of the lines 757 — 760. This mistake is not
found in the Lincoln MS.
3 Arwelle, MS. Lincoln, obviously the correct reading, as Orwell harbour in
Sussex is the point indicated. See further, line 841.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 263
10 I will go back, it will be for his damage.
If God is willing and agrees, I will efface the outrage.
Wrongly they had arrived from Flanders the wild."
Now has Richard de Lucy done as a sensible [man],
He has from the king of Scotland all he had asked
Of truces for Northumberland till about summer ;
And lord Humphrey de Bohun is gone back
And many a gentle knight in England bora ;
They will be in a short time with Flemings acquainted.
You have heard it well, the little and the great,
10 That earl Robert is gone so far forward
That he has arrived in Suffolk,1 [and] goes taxing the land ;
As far. as Dunwich all moves by his command,
Many a gentleman of Flanders goes this day following him :
Whereat the king of England had afterwards a great joy.
Earl Hugh Bigod 2 has taken his messengers,
And announces to those of Dunwich that he is their friend,
That they should take part with the earl, and they should have play
and amusement,
Or that they would lose their heads who are still living ;
And those have answered him that wrongly counsel would be taken
about it,
50 On the contrary they will sell themselves very dear to their enemies.
Surely you have heard it in proverb :
" He who commits treason to his lawful lord
Or any felony by which he suffer injury,
To have bad recompense must not doubt ;
And he who loyally serves him is much to be esteemed."
So did the people of Dunwich, of whom you hear me speak.
The earl of Leicester wished to besiege them,
And swore his oath as he was accustomed,
If the burghers and the peers did not surrender themselves to him,
30 There should not escape a man without death or injury ;
And these answer him with emulation :
" Confounded be he who dreads you to the amount of a penny !
Still living is the good lawful king,
Who will very soon bring your war to an end.
As long as we can live and stand on our feet,
We will not surrender the town from fear of any assault."
The earl of Leicester began to be angry,
And erects the gallows to frighten them ;
Then causes to arm in haste Serjeants and esquires,
70 To assault the town vigorously he resolved to do what he could.
That day you might have seen burghers, very valiant knights,
Sally out to their fortifications ; each knows his business,
Some to shoot with bows, others to cast darts ;
The strong help the feeble often to repose.
There was within the town neither maid or woman
1 " Arivez en Sufolke," MS. Durham. " Erwelle, Suffoke," MS. Lincoln See
note to line 820.
2 Hugh Bigod, earl of Norfolk. Dugd. Baron, i. 132.
264 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Who did not carry a stone to the palisade to cast.
So did the people of Dunwich defend themselves,
As these verses speak which are here written ; ;
And so brave were the great and the little
880 That earl Robert went away quite scorned.
The earl of Leicester is of very great valour,
Towards the people of Dunwich he found no love ;
Neither assault nor vassal could be of any use to him,
Nor serjeant nor esquire, whom those might fear.
He and the earl set about returning,
Till the morrow at dawn, when he saw the day appear.
He called his constables, and said to them in hearing :
" Cause your men to mount, delay will be wrong.
I will go to Norwich, if God gives me power,
890 To see their business, what is their countenance."
And those do not delay to do the deed ;
Soon might you see in haste displayed many a sleeve,
Many a pennon of silk borne on fine lance,
And many a good gentle vassal, many a man of great valour.
If any wish to hear the truth how Norwich was taken,
I was not in the country when it was besieged :
A Lorrain traitor betrayed it, therefore it was surprised.
None can guard himself against treason in any guise,
Except only king Henry, who punishes the cruel
900 By the power of the Creator and the prayer of holy church ;
He never made pretence to keep peace according to his power,
And may God, who never lied, preserve him in his service !
Jordan Fantosme first wanted to give himself up,
On all the reliques an oath to swear,
There is no clerk in all the world, ever so clever in recording
His lesson in his book, or in speaking of any art,
Who could tell me or can mention
A land which from hence to Montpellier
Is worth that of Norfolk, of which you hear me speak,
910 More honoured knights or more hospitable,
Or merrier dames to give largely,
Except the town of London, of which nobody knows its peer ;
To the barons of the town none could be compared.
Never in this war you heard speak of any,
Let him be ever so rich in land, who dared besiege them,
Or point towards them the finger even in thought,
Who had not a sore recompense in lieu of his pay.
Gentle king of England, just imagine
How you ought to love London and the barons ;
920 For never did they fail their lawful lord,
But were always the first at his need.
They had enough of messengers from Flanders beyond the sea,
Who promised to give them great honours.
Your own son, whom you should love much,
Since by nature he has begun to be reconciled,
Asked them by letters and by his messengers
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 265
To help him to war against his father,
On such condition as you will hear me name,
That all the days of his life he would hold them so dear,
0 Would love and cherish, and much would give them ;
But they would not do it nor even consent to it
To chase or exile you from your kingdom.
Therefore you ought to love, honour and cherish them,
And at their great need their loyalty recompense,
Since for any promise they would never swerve ;
But to love you as they could was their pleasure.
Gentle king of England, do my desire ;
Love those who wish to serve you in loyalty.
There should not to the young king come any harm
0 (Since by natural affection he has begun to repent)
From bringing foreign people to injure his own
Who after the days of his father are to support him.
Before this century comes to an end,
Many adventures may happen.
Never had you such a war to sustain,
But your son had a greater ; now let him think of nourishing his
people.
The earl of Leicester does not cease to waste
The land of Norfolk, of which you hear me speak ;
He could not in Normandy injure king Henry :
0 Therefore he wanted to embroil England as much as he could.
He has with him Flemings by hundreds and by thousands.
Earl Hugh the Bigod wished to aid him altogether ;
And the earl of Ferrieres,1 a simple knight
(He had better ^iss and embrace a fair lady
Than with a hammer of war strike a knight),
Informs him by his letters he may go secure
Throughout all England, he will have no disturbance there.
The earl tells him those who wish to war :
It is the king of Scotland whom he first named,
0 And lord David his brother who is much to be prized,
And lord Roger of Mowbray 2 who was always a warrior.
" He will come to succour you where you want it.
All the land is on fire : think of moving.
The old king of England will have need of his people ;
He is in great difficulty, so we must praise God :
Never in his life will he pass the sea,
But will have lost Normandy by passing.
If you could ride to Leicester,
Before Easter came you might go
As far as the Tower of London, there would be no disturbance.
The good city of York is lord Roger's,
Throughout all Yorkshire he proclaims himself lord.
There are within my country scarcely any knights,
Whom I will not kill outright, if I have not their aid."
— " Oh ! God !" thus said the earl, " how enraged I could be now !
1 Robert earl of Ferrers. Dugd. Baron, i. 219. 2 Id. i. 122.
266 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
I have been too long waiting to help my lord
And to revenge myself on the old king his father and for my injuries.
Shall I hear, lords knights, any one of you speak ?
To do this business who will dare advise me?"
980 — " Yes, sir/' quite boldly answered him his wife.
" Lord God forbid, who is lawful king,
That you for Humphrey de Bohun should give up this journey,
Either for the earl of Arundel l or for his fair speech !
The English are great boasters, they do not know how to fight ;
Better they know with large cups to drink and act the glutton.
The earl of Gloucester2 is much to be feared ;
But he has your sister for wife and companion :
For all the wealth of France he would not begin
To commit any outrage from which you would have disturbance."
990 — " Dame," so said the earl, " now I hear you speak ;
Your counsel I must follow, for much I love you.
—Sir Hugh del Chastel, 3 will you grant it ?
If you were at Leicester in danger,
Of all the men of England you need not be afraid ;
But might often cause them great trouble."
And said Hugh del Chastel : "There is nothing to do but go."
Soon you might hear shouting very loud
Between Flemings from Flanders and French and Pohier : 4
" We have not come to this country to dwell,
1000 But to destroy king Henry the old warrior,
And to have his wool, which we desire."
Lords, that is the truth : the most were weavers,
They did not know how to bear arms like knights.
But for this they had come, to have gain and war ;
For there is no place on earth more hospitable than Saint-Edmund's.
Now listen, lords barons, to God's great vengeance,
Which he poured down on Flemings and on the people of France.
The earl of Leicester was of great power ;
But he was in heart too youthful and childish
1010 When through England he wished to go publicly,
Committing his robberies without having disturbance,
And makes his wife take arms, carry shield and lance.
His great folly will take hard birth.
Saint-Edmund's had knights of very great power,
It arms them in haste without any delay :
It was Walter Fitz-Robert, of whom you hear speak,
Who first encountered the Flemings and put them into a bad way.
Indeed, the earl of Arundel (he never loved delay)
Thither came with the train, whom saint Edmund prosper !
1020' Sir Humphrey de Bohun caused them annoyance ;
Soon you will see them come to blows, there is no other separation.
1 William de Albini, concerning whom see Dugd. Baron, i. 118.
2 Id. i. 535.
3 This French nobleman is frequently mentioned by Hoveden, William of
Newborough, and Benedictus Abbas.
4^See Du Cange, under the word " Poheri." These were the inhabitants of
a small principality called Poix.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 267
The earl of Leicester stopped short,
And saw the armed people who came approaching them :
" Sir Hugh del Chastel, now here come forward,
And all your company, the little and the great.
By my conscience ! we will not go farther,
We will accept battle very hard and very heavy.
Behold hauberks and helmets against the sun shining ;
But now be knights, for God's sake I command you.
30 Woe to the body of the man who first runs away,
That it may never be said in a proverb that we are recreants."
The earl of Arundel is of great pride,
And says to Humphrey de Bohun : " Now let us go and attack them
In honour of God and saint Edmund, who is a true martyr."
Answers Roger le Bigod : " Quite at your pleasure !
I never in my life had so great a desire for anything
As to destroy the Flemings, whom I see coming here."
It was Walter Fitz-Robert who spurred on the first,
Now may the omnipotent King be his aid !
40 And goes to attack the Flemings very furiously ;
And they resist him, who fear him not.
They were more than he by thousands and by hundreds,
So they force him back with his people ;
But he did not delay to seek vengeance :
Woe to them that they saw England, all will be sorry for it.
He encountered the earl, and said to him harshly :
" You are the man of my lord, be not slow ;
See his enemies going to his destruction.
Spur on, sir earl, along with us."
i50 And this he swore by God's lance, (that was his oath,)
Woe to Robert that he brought from Flanders such people.
Then you might see the earl who drew himself up proudly.
And lord Roger le Bigod who undertakes great deeds.
Nor did lord Hugh de Creissy l fail them at all ;
But before they could fall upon them at their pleasure,
Humphrey de Bohun had retained more than a hundred.
Certainly well does Robert Fitz- Bernard2 perform,
Of this foreign people he makes a wonderful clearance ;
Neither can Flemings or Lombards assist themselves :
(60 The wool of England they gathered very late.
Upon their bodies descend crows and buzzards,
Who carry away the souls to the fire which ever burns.
There the priest of Suart will say mass for them ;
It would be better for them in Flanders to hang by a rope.
The Flemings would have been very brave, if God were their aid ;
But they had not deserved it for their great robberies.
The earl of Leicester saw their company to his misfortune,
And lord Hugh del Chastel will not rejoice in it :
They are in the midst of the crowd, feeble, without aid.
)70 My lady the countess has entered the way,
1 Dugd. Baron, i. 708.
2 Mentioned in Hoved. Annal. A.D. 1172, fol. 302, b.
268 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
And met with a ditch where she was almost drowned,
In the midst of the mud her rings she forgets ;
Never will they be found in all her life.
The wife of the earl wished to drown herself intentionally,
When Simon de Vahull l set about lifting her up :
" Lady, come away with me, give up that idea ;
Thus it fares in war, to lose or to gain/'
Then began earl Robert to be strongly affected
When he saw his wife taken, he had good reason to be angry,
1080 And saw his companions slain by hundreds and by thousands :
The colour began to change in his face.
Lord Humphrey de Bohun and the earl of Arundel
Have detained the earl and Hugh del Chastel,
And lord Roger le Bigod was this day newly arrived ;
To him and to Hugh de Creissy this deed seemed very fine,
There was in the country neither villager nor clown
Who did not go to destroy the Flemings with fork and flail.
With nothing meddled the armed knights
But only with knocking them down, and the villagers with killing them ;
1090 By fifteens, by forties, by hundreds and by thousands
By main force they make them tumble into the ditches.
If God did a miracle there, it is not to be wondered at;
For never in my life I heard speak of any man,
However bold he might be in arms, however valiant a knight,
If he wanted to war against king Henry,
»And even those of England desired to aid him,
Who did not end by getting the worst of it.
After earl Robert was taken and defeated,
All England was somewhat more secure.
1100 All the Flemings of Flanders met with hard luck,
None of the king's enemies feels secure of anything.
Earl David of Scotland, whatever may be said of him,
Was a most gentle warrior, so God bless me ;
For never by him was robbed holy church or abbey,
\nd none under his orders would have injured a priest.
It was in May after April when the grass has grown green,
That David came from Scotland with proud company,
[Having] become his brother's man, in the presence of his baronage,
On giving him all Lennox all the days of his life,
1110 Besides the honour of Huntingdon; he has pledged his faith for it :
That and much more he will give him, provided he assist him
To make war on king Henry, the duke of Normandy.
Now has David of Scotland to England come
With hauberks and with helmets and with fine painted shields.
Those of Leicester sent him greeting,
And say how it has happened to their lord :
Now let him come to defend them, and he will be well received ;
By him and by his force will the castle be held.
Certainly, to Bertram de Verdun 2 it will be very dearly sold ;
1120 If it fall into their hands, he will be very angry,
i Dugd. Baron, i. 504. 2 Id. i. 471.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 269
Now hear, lords, of the earl how he was taken :
He had in Huntingdon left some of his friends,
He was in Leicester exceedingly powerful ;
To those of Nottingham it will be worse every day.
Those of Northampton were of great valour ;
But lord David of Scotland put them to great difficulty :
He could not have tribute from them for love,
So he made a hostile expedition against the burghers one day.
Certainly, whoever will listen, I will tell him the truth of it.
130 Well did the earl and all his companions.
Exceedingly well did the knights who came from the castle.
Lord Bertram de Verdun was there this day newly arrived,
He had fine arms and a horse very fleet,
From many who jousted he the prize carried off;
And lord David of Scotland did there his best,
He carried off such a booty as seemed to him very fine.
David in England warred very well ;
But the war turned out badly to the king of Scotland :
By his evil counsellors he undertook to do such a thing
[40 From which at the end came to him very great misfortune.
David was very wise, and was also amiable,
And protected holy Church, for never did he wish to wrong
A priest or canon who knew grammar,
Nor nun of abbey would he displease on any account.
It was after Easter, I ought to remember well,
That the king of Scotland began to return
Towards Northumberland to waste and injure.
Oh, God ! what great damage I saw befall them !
When the king of Scotland came to attack Wark,
150 On whatever side he wished to assault,
Roger d'Estutevile had prepared himself there for it.
Woe to Fantosme,1 if you ever hear me lie !
And if I lie to you, you may well hear this,
How Roger laboured to serve his lord.
Hear of the king of Scotland how he warred,
When he departed from Wark how he proposed :
He prepared at night a great number of chevaliers,
To the castle of Bamborough2 immediately despatched them.
I well knew the baron who conducted and led them ;
160 I will not speak of him, for much has he lost by it.
This assembled host will do wonderful damage.
Now would to Jesus the son of holy Mary
That the poor people had been then warned of it,
Who in their beds are sleeping and know nothing of it !
It was still morning when the dawn cleared up,
When these chevaliers armed themselves, the fierce company ;
The town of Belford 3 was first attacked.
1 Above this word a contemporary hand has written " auctor libri
Lincoln manuscript.
2 The castle of Bamborough, situated on the sea-coast of Northumberland.
3 A small town in the north of the county last mentioned.
270 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Over all the country they scattered themselves :
Some run to towns to commit their folly,
1170 Some go to take sheep in their folds,
Some go to burn the towns, I cannot tell you more ;
Never will such great destruction be heard spoken of.
Then might you see peasants and Flemings who tie them,
And lead them in their cords like heathen people.
Women fly to the minster, each was ravished
Naked without clothes, she forgets there her property.
Ah, God ! why did William de Vesci not know it,
Roger d'Estutevile, the others also ?
The booty would have been rescued, nor would they have failed in it
1 1 80 But they knew it not, certainly it grieves me.
They burnt the country ; but God was a friend
To those gentle peasants who were defenceless,
For the Scots were not their mortal enemies :
They would have beaten, slain and ill-treated them all.
Very great was the booty which the royalists carry away,
They came to Berwick on Tyne l to their lodgings,
They have joy enough for that and much amusement ;
For they are rich in cattle, oxen and horses
And in fine cows, sheep and lambs,
1190 In clothes and money, in bracelets and rings.
Then sent the king of Scotland for his knights,
The earls of his land, all the best warriors ;
To Wark he wished to lay siege by his good counsellors,
He wished to have the castle by Flemings and archers,
By good stone -bows, by his engines very strong
And by his slingers and his cross-bow-men.
Will you hear of Roger how he behaved himself ?
He was riot the least dismayed when this host came to him :
He had in his train knights more than twenty,
1200 Certainly, the best Serjeants that ever baron retained.
The host was marvellous, of great chivalry,
Of Flemings and Border-men fierce was the company.
Roger d'Estutevile has garrisoned his house,
He does not fear their siege the value of a clove of garlick :
He has a very gentle baronage to whom he trusts much,
And to exhort them well he did not forget.
By a Monday morning were equipped
Those who shall assault the castle, Flemings they were named,
Then you might see bucklers seized and shields buckled on,
1210 The port-cullis assaulted, as you may soon hear.
By wonderful daring they came to the ditches ;
Those who were inside did not forget themselves ;
They soon struck each other and were so mingled together
That I never saw a better defence in these two kingdoms.
The Flemings were daring and very courageous,
And the other much enraged in their fortress.
Soon you might see Serjeants and Flemings so mingled,
1 A repetition of the mistake already noticed at line 428.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 271
Shields and bucklers broken, pennons displayed,
Flemings turning back from the port-cullises, wounded ;
;0 Some were carried from the port-cullises by others ;
Never will they cry Arras ! [until] dead they are and buried.
Long lasted this assault ; but little succeeded :
Certainly king William did not cease to lose.
Roger d'Estutevile exhorted his men,
By very gentle words he addressed and harangued them :
" Gentle barons companions, by God who formed you !
Do not speak basely, and we will not do so ;
If they assault us, God will defend us.
They do wrong to king Henry, for he has done no harm.
;0 " Shoot not your arrows forth but on great occasions ;
We know not their intentions and nothing of their thoughts.
They have wide ways and roads and paths,
Wine and beer, drink, food,
And are rich in arms and in fleet steeds ;
And we are here within, Serjeants and soldiers :
If we have victuals, let us keep them willingly.
Spare your arms, I say that to you, archers ;
But when you see need and great complete assaults,
Then defend your heads like gentle chevaliers."
0 Roger d'Estutevile exhorted thus the people,
And the king of Scotland was greatly enraged.
When he saw his Serjeants die and often fail
And saw that he was not gaining ground, he was grieved in heart ;
And said to his chevaliers in his great irritation :
" Make your stone-bow come hastily ;
It will soon break the gate, if the engineer lies not ;
And we shall take the outer fortification without any delay."
Hear, lords, of the stone -bow how it went on :
The first stone which it ever cast at them,
0 The stone was scarcely parted from the sling
When it knocked one of their knights to the ground.
Were it not for his armour and the shield which he had,
To none of his lineage had he ever returned ;
Much must he hate the engineer who contrived that for them,
And the king of Scotland who lost more by it.
Then said king William a marvellous joke :
" Certainly this deed seems to me very costly
Rage possesses my heart and wrath so hideous,
I had rather be taken quite alive before Toulouse."
•0 It is no marvel if he has heaviness in his heart :
Woe that he saw Flemings of Flanders and then the king of
France ;
He knows well the truth at last and without mistake :
That he has lost king Henry without any remedy,
And cannot injure him by buckler or lance
Nor by engine of war, from which he may have much harm.
When the stone -bow failed him, he ordered up the other :
He fain would burn the castle, he knows not what to do better ;
272 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
But Jesus the glorious, the Creator of all things,
Turned against the king of Scotland the wind very contrary,
1 270 And to Roger the baron it began much to please.
Now he has such great gladness, in his life he never had more.
Then said king William : " Let us raise this siege ;
I see my people destroyed and the mischief which cuts us off.
Certainly, this affair grieves me strongly at heart.
Roger d'Estutevile has found us out."
The king of Scotland made his host watch in the night,
Until the following day at dawn when daylight appeared clear,
When he assembled all his earls and barons :
" Gentle barons, knights, now hear me speak :
1280 Let us raise this siege, we can make nothing of it ;
But we have great loss by it : think of restoring it.
Kindle the fire, burn these huts,
Collect and fold your tents and pavilions,
And cause all my host to go Roxburgh."
Then you might see these merchants coming and going,
Unpitching the pavilions, and unfolding the tents,
Through this host of Scotland making great noise :
Of his great discomfiture he might well remember.
King William departed, who wished to go.
1290 Now they set the huts on fire and burn them.
Very great was the noise, that is not to be concealed from you,
Which in this host servants and esquires make.
Roger d'Estutevile was no coward,
Nor fearful in war, nor a base knight ;
Never of a wiser man did you hear speak,
Nor of more steady nor of more gentle warrior.
When he saw this assembled host going towards Roxburgh,
To his gentle baronage he began to speak :
" Say nothing wrong ; for God's sake ! let it be,
1 300 Neither cry at nor hoot these people of Scotland ;
But God our Father we must all praise :
Wlien he from the king of Scotland and from his host so wild
Has preserved us our lives, we ought to thank Him.
" To play or to amuse yourselves I forbid not ;
And when you see the king and his assembled host depart,
Then shout your joy each for himself;
I shall do the same, so that it shall be heard.
The son injures the father, who opposes him so."
Then might you hear the cornets sounding by ranks :
1310 There were no reproaches, nor taunting words said ;
But songs and choruses and friendly salutations ;
Of horns and trumpets very fine was the accord.
Roger d'Estutevile is glad at heart,
Well ought he to be so, do not wonder at it ;
For the king of Scotland has left him his own :
He has, thank God, neither lost nor won,
And has none of his followers slain or injured,
Knight or serjeant in the body wounded
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 273
For whom he should have to give a coined denier
10 To a physician of Salerno to be treated for it.
Lords, in such disgraceful manner departed king William
From Wark, and for that siege he will still have blame.
He has such great wrath in his heart that he almost faints from it.
Then has sworn an oath, saint Andrew and saint James,
He will not give up the war though he were to lose his kingdom.
Behold Robert de Mowbray, who well knew war ;
To his two eldest sons had left his land,
His castles, his domains, and they knew what to do.
He came to the king of Scotland to beg and to request
}0 That he would fight quite securely, for that it was the truth
That there was not on earth any one W7ho could oppose him.
Now has the king such joy, never in his life had he more ;
Never would he draw back from doing wrong.
In the night was the counsel taken how they should act :
To royal Carlisle in the morning they shall go,
No one disputes it ; but now they shall begin,
They will never cease to look for their injury.
Now is Roger de Mowbray with the king of Albany
To make war according to his power, with strength and in aid,
10 So is lord Adam de Porz1 with great chivalry ;
They were the best warriors known to be in existence.
They had been once so ; but they little know
That God will not long consent to their folly.
Away goes king William with his great gathered host
Towards Carlisle the fair, the strong garrisoned city.
Lord Roger de Mowbray and his chivalry
And lord Adam de Porz joins himself to his Border-men.
The earls of Scotland lead the hated people,
Who never had any repugnance to do fiendish things.
50 They make such progress, I know not what more to tell you,
That they could see Carlisle full of beauty ;
The sun illuminates the walls and turrets.
He who has a merry banner, gladly displays it ;
And the trumpets sound in every rank :
You might hear noise in the shuddering city ;
But lord Robert de Vaus gently begs them
Not to be dismayed nor act cowardly;
For, if God keeps his life safe and sound,
He fears not at all this host nor the king of Albany.
60 The king summons Roger and Adam to council,
Walter de Berkeley,2 who was one of his retainers :
" Now behold, noble knights, much gentle preparation ;
You cannot count the white nor the red,
So many are the banners dancing in the sun !
" Go to Robert, say that I send him this message :—
Surrender me the castle this very moment :
He will have no succour from any living man,
And the king of England will never more be his defender ;
1 See Dugd. Baron, i. 463. 2 See Chalmers' Caledonia, i. 528.
VOL. IV. T
274 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
And if he will not do so, swear well to him
1370 He shall lose his head for it and his children shall die.
I will not leave him a single friend or relation
Whom I will not exile, if he does not execute my command."
Now go the barons demanding the truce,
They go to Robert de Vaus where he was ;
He was dressed in a hauberk, leaning on a battlement,
And held in his hand a keen sword
With a sharp edge, he handled it gently ;
And saw the messenger who called him,
From him and his men asking the truce.
1380 And he answered him : " Friend, what is it you want ?
You might soon leave there the little and the great."
And said the messenger : " That is not courteous :
A messenger carrying his message should not be
Insulted or ill-treated ; he may say what he likes."
And said Robert de Vaus : " Now come nearer,
Say your pleasure ; be afraid of nothing."
Lords, in such way as this did the messenger speak
To Robert, who is the chief, and to all the baronage :
" Sir Robert de Vaus, you are valiant and wise.
1390 I am the king's messenger, he is my protector;
He sends you by me salutation and friendship.
Restore him the castle which is his inheritance :
His ancestors had it already long in peacefulness ;
But the king of England has disinherited him of it
Wrongly and sinfully, thus he sends you a message by me.
And, if you please, you know that this is the truth.
You were not a child nor of childish age
That you and all the kingdom did not see that.
Now show him love before his baronage :
1400 Surrender him the castle and all the fortress,
And he will give you so much coined money
Never Hubert de Vaus l had so much collected.
" Surrender him the castle on such terms,
And become his man on such conditions :
He will give you so much property in fine gold and money,
And much more than we tell you.
" If you do not consent to it to disinherit him,
You must not in any place trust to his person :
He will besiege the castle with his people,
1410 You will not go out of it any day without injury to you ;
And if he can gain the castle by force,
The king of England will be of no avail to you,
Nor al-1 the gold of his kingdom which he could collect,
To prevent you from being drawn on a hurdle and adjudged to
a bad death."
When lord Robert heard this, he was very calm :
" We do not care about quarrels or threats.
[We are here within good steady people :] 2
1 See Dugd. Baron, i. 525. 2 This line does not occur in the Lincoln MS.
JORDAN FANTOSME S CHRONICLE. 2?5
May he be disgraced who will surrender himself as long as victuals
last!
Tell me, messenger, may God give you honour !
) Go to the king of Scotland, who is your lord ;
Say that I inform him I take from him no estate
Nor fees nor inheritance, nor will I ever do so ;
But let him go to king Henry, let him make his complaint
That I hold the castle and tower of Carlisle
By force against him as a true warrior ;
And if my sire the king be angry with me for it,
Let him send me his messenger, but no traitor,
Who may tell me from him : ' Give up this honour
Willingly and cheerfully ; there must be no giving it back
) " And if he will not do so, let us make a covenant :
Give me such a respite that I may pass the sea,
And I shall tell my lord, Henry the valiant king,
To give him back his honour as far as he is requiring,
The castle of Carlisle and all belonging to it.
Then he is sure of it, if T have the command for it,
Certainly ; or, if not, were I to die here before,
The castle of my lord I will not surrender to him."
When the king's messenger the answer had heard,
He said to his companions : "I never saw such thing.
If the king my lord have no pity on him,
I value little all the baronage he has collected here."
And he said to Robert de Vaus : " We will go hence ;
Woe to you that you saw Carlisle as well as king Henry."
Then the messengers departed thence,
And tell their lord all they had heard :
" Sire, king of Scotland, now hear the message.
Robert informs you through me that he fears you not ;
He will not surrender the castle for gold or for silver,
And for Scotland besides, if he had a present of it,
And had rather die before all his people.
There is within the castle enough of wine and corn,
And there is unanimity between him and his people
I must say all that belongs to a messenger.
He does not wish to take from you any thing which is yours ;
But, if he saw his lord to whom the honour belongs,
And he ordered him to leave it by his command,
And only said to him with his own mouth,
' Surrender to king William/ he would do it very readily ;
And he will inform him soon and quickly."
And said king William : " This is a joke of his."
The king had counsellors, he knew all their business ;
He did not this time any harm to Robert,
But went to Appleby :l there he directed his march.
There were no people in it : therefore he took it speedily.
The king had very soon the castle of Appleby ;
There were no people in it, but it was quite unguarded.
1 A town in Westmoreland.
T 2
276 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Gospatric l the son of Horm, an old grey-headed Englishman,
Was the constable ; he soon cried mercy.
The king had then forgot his sorrow
1470 When he had the castle and the tower of Apple by ;
And goes threatening much the king our lord,
Henry the son of Matilda, to whom God give honour !
To vanquish all those may He give him strength and vigour
Who are against him to deprive him of his possessions !
King William of Scotland has already taken Appleby,
And Roger de Mowbray who was his friend ;
And they place within it their Serjeants as warders of the marches,
And have appointed three constables in the castle ;
They have great joy and laughter enough among themselves :
1480 They think never to lose them till the day of judgment.
They wish to go to Burc ;2 the resolution was soon taken.
If it is not surrendered to them, not a single living being shall go
out of it ;
But the castle was not so unprovided,
That there were not within it more than six knights.
The castle was very soon attacked on all sides ;
And the Flemings and the Border-men make a violent assault
upon them,
And have the first day taken from them the outer fortification,
And soon they left it and placed themselves in the tower.
Now are they in this tower, they will hold out a short time ;
1490 For they set fire to it, they will burn them who are inside it.
[They do not know any plan nor what they can do ;
Already the fire is lighted : now they will be burnt here.] 3
" By my faith ! fair sire, if you please, they will not do so ;
But will behave like knights : they will stick to the king,
For they see very well they will have no succour."
They cannot hold out longer, they have surrendered to the king.
That is well done which they do now.
They have surrendered to the king, they have great sorrow in their
hearts.
But a new knight had come to them that day.
1500 Now hear of his deeds and his great exploits :
When his companions had all surrendered,
He remained in the tower and seized two shields,
He hung them on the battlements, he stayed there long,
And threw at the Scots three sharp javelins ;
With each of the javelins he has struck a man dead.
When those failed him, he takes up sharp stakes
And hurled them at the Scots, and confused some of them,
And ever keeps shouting : " You shall all be soon vanquished."
Never by a single vassal was strife better maintained.
1510 When the fire deprived him of the defence of the shields,
He is not to blame if he then surrendered.
1 See Nicolson and Burn's Hist, of "Westmoreland and Cumberland, i. 465.
2 Brough under Stanemore, in Westmoreland,
3 These two lines are supplied from the Lincoln MS.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 277
Now is Burc overthrown and the best of the tower.
[Now is Robert de Vaus in some alarm ;] l
He sends his messenger the same day
To Richard de Luci, who tells him the truth
That Appleby has been taken in the morning,
And the castle of Brough, which is not much worse.
" I have now from no part either aid or succour,
And I think well that the king will give me hard treatment."
) And Richard de Luci says : " Now let him do the best,
Let him beware of becoming a deceiver for any thing ;
But if he loves Henry his good lord,
For him must he endure trouble and grief.
I send him for my part greeting and love ;
And news of the king, before fifteen days elapse,
He will have in England, if it pleases God the Saviour."
When Robert heard that, the colour came to his face ;
He who before was dejected, now is in joy.
Of Richard de Luci now hear the truth :
By the good sense which he has and his great loyalty,
His lord beyond the sea by his letters he has called ;
The Bishop of Winchester,2 as it was arranged,
He himself went there through very great friendship,
And said to king Henry : " May God save you !
England salutes you as its defender,
Lord Richard de Luci and all the other baronage
Who adhere to you ; but hear the truth :
They are not ten, so may Lord God help me,
Who adhere to you in right loyalty."
Then asks the king : " What then does Richard
De Luci the loyal ? Is he on my side ?"
— " Yes, sire, indeed, he does not do things by halves ;
But would rather let himself be tied to a post with a rope."
— " And the earl of Arundel, how does he behave ?
Does he side with me ? does he war against us ? "
— " Sire, by my faith ! but he is your well-wisher
In all your need, in the foremost rank."
— " And Humphrey de Bohun, how has he behaved ?
Against my enemies has he fought ? "
— " Sire, by my faith ! I wish to be believed in it :
He is one of the most loyal who has adhered to you."
— " Near York how behaved the barons ?
And those of Estutevile, do they keep their houses?"
— " Certainly, sire, if you please, we know it very well,
From those of Estutevile no treasons have come."
— " And the elected bishop of Lincoln,3 how is he in the country ?
I!an he not fight against his enemies ? "
— " He is, sire, truly your cordial friend ;
ie has enough of chevaliers and good border-serjeants."
1 This line occurs only in the Lincoln MS.
' - This was Richard, surnamed TocKve, or of Ilchester.
3 Geoffrey, the natural son of Henry II. and Rosamond Clifford.
278 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
— " Thomas the son of Bernard and his brother also,
1560 Are they very often with Richard de Luci?"
— " Certainly, sire, if you please, they are very friendly to you,
And Roger le Bigod, who never failed/'
— " Now tell me the truth of my land of the north :
Roger d'Estutevile, has he made any agreement?"
— "A thousand men would die there, sire, of bad death
Ere Roger d'Estutevile injure you either right or wrong/'
— • " Ralph de Glanvile,1 is he at Richmond,2
And lord Robert de Vaus? what are these two barons about?"
1570 Then drew the messenger a profound sigh ;
And the king said to him : " Wherefore are these sighs ?
Has then Robert de Vaus committed treason ?
Has he surrendered Carlisle? say nothing but truth/'
— " But he keeps it nobly like a gentle baron.
Of his great trouble it is right we should tell you.
The king of Scotland came the other day by Carlisle prancing
And harshly threatening lord Robert de Vaus ;
He asked him for the castle, with this covenant,
That he would give him enough wherewith he should be rich ;
1 580 And if he did not do so thenceforth,
He would make them all die of starvation, the little and the great."
— " By my faith," so said the king, " here is a good covenant.
In little time God works, so says the beggar.
What then did the Scot do ? did he besiege Carlisle ? "
— " By no means, sire, if you please, but he did a more daring thing ;
For he has taken Appleby, for which I very much lament,
And the castle of Brough, I must well acquaint you."
— " How, my good fellow!" said the king, "is then Appleby taken?"
— " Yes, sire, indeed, and all the country :
1590 That has greatly encouraged your mortal enemies.
Some held by you, who have joined them.
Sire, for Robert de Vaus I have been here sent :
Neither wine nor wheat can reach him any longer,
Nor from the side of Richmond will he be assisted more ;
If he has not speedy succour, all will be starved.
Then will Northumberland be completely devastated,
Odinel de Humfranvile at length disinherited ;
Newcastle- on -Tyne will be destroyed,
William de Vesci, his lands and his fees :
1600 The Scots overrun it all like heathen."
— "By God ! " so said the king, " it would be a great pity."
Then his eyes shed tears, he sighed deeply :
— " Eh, my good fellow ! what does the bishop of Durham ? "
— " He is all one with king William."
— " Saint Thomas," said the king, " preserve me my kingdom ;
I confess myself guilty to you for what others have the blame.
— Fair sir," said the king, " tell me truth,
How do my barons of London my city ? "
1 A memoir of this celebrated baron of the Exchequer may be seen in Dugd.
Baron, i. 423. 2 A market town in Yorkshire.
JORDAN FANTOSME S CHRONICLE. 279
— " So may the Lord God help me who remains in Trinity,
10 They are the most loyal people of all your kingdom.
There is none in the town who is of such an age
As to bear arms, who is not very well armed ;
You would be wrong to think now anything bad of them.
But, sire, now be acquainted with one thing :
Gilbert of Munfichet 1 has fortified his castle,
And says that the men of Clare are allied to him."
— " O God !" so said the king, " now take pity on it,
Preserve my barons of London my city.
— " Go, lord bishop, into your country.
0 If God give me health and I may be living,
You will have me at London before fifteen days come,
And I will take vengeance on all my enemies/'
He sends for his people, his good worthy Serjeants
And earls and barons, — there is riot one left out ;
He entrusted Rouen to them, for they are his friends.
The bishop comes back, as I told you just now ;
And Richard de Luci, who never was at a loss,
Has gladly asked news of the king :
" Sir," says the bishop, " he is a worthy king :
) He fears not the Flemings the value of a clove of garlick ;
Nor does he, by my faith ! the king of Saint-Denis.
He thinks he shall conquer his enemies so
That you will 2 see him arrive in fifteen days from this/'
Now is Richard de Luci in a great joy ;
He informs Robert de Vaus he would be wrong to be afraid :
He will have succour from the good king his lord
Like loyal knight who has kept his honour.
When Robert heard that above there in that tower,
He never was more delighted at any time.
The king of Scotland came there in the very same day,
And asked for Carlisle, city and tower ;
Or he will have it by force, there will be no retractation.
And Robert de Vaus said : " For God the Creator !
Appoint me a term, and name me a day :
If succour does not come to me from the king my lord,
I will surrender you the castle, and you shall be the commander !"
And king William said : "I have no fear of it ;
You will have no succour, I know well the truth of it."
Now goes king William straight to Odinel,
He wanted to surprise him to get the castle ;
But the castle was well provided afresh :
Now Odinel will be besieged within there,
'For the king of Scotland sends him a challenge.
Odinel had good people established in the castle :
So he makes defence, never did I see better.
He himself without companions sallied out by force.
1 Dugd. Baron, i. 438.
2 In MS. Line, the reading is, " You will see him at London in fifteen days
Tom this."
280 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
His people did not wish that he should be there disgraced ;
For they knew very well the king was very bold,
Towards their lord he had a heart swelling and angry ;
1660 And if he could take the castle by [his] gathered host,
He would never have mercy on Odinel in his court.
Odinel departed very sorry from his people,
And they remained within like bold knights.
Great was the host of Scotland, the noise and the cry.
With Flemings and Border-men the castle was assaulted ;
And those within defended themselves with strength and valour,
For so many wounded outside were knocked down,
They will never see the relations which they had.
And Odinel goes off on his hairy bay horse
1670 To ask for succour that he might be relieved.
Then Odinel rode so much on the good brown bay,
Day and night always spurring,
That he gathered good valiant people,
Four hundred knights with their shining helmets.
They will be in the battle fighting with him,
They will succour Prudhoe with their trenchant swords.
Three days lasted the siege, to my knowledge :
Odinel had many good men there within.
Against the Flemings they defend themselves bravely.
1 680 They did not lose within, I assure you I tell no lie,
As much as amounted to a silver penny ;
But they lost their fields with all their corn,
And their gardens were ravaged by those bad people ;
And he who could not do more injury, took it into his head
To bark the apple-trees : it was bad vengeance.
When king William saw that he could not succeed,
Nor take the castle by arrows nor by spears,
He spoke in private to his good counsellor :
" Let us go to Alnwick, let us leave this one alone.
1690 You will not see with your eyes this first month elapse,
Before Odinel will hold it to his great trouble.
Never will we go from it until we have first had it.
Let us allow our Scots to waste the sea- coast —
Woe to them if they leave standing a house or a church ;
And we will allow the Galloway-men to go in another direction,
To kill the men in OdineFs land :
We will go to Alnwick to besiege the castle,
And both our hosts shall come to help our Frenchmen ;
But they will have first made so great a disturbance,
1700 That this country will be destroyed. Now let us think of hast
ening."
It was on Thursday evening that the king spoke,
And Frenchmen and Flemings agreed to his words.
Friday in the morning his trumpet was sounded :
This great host departed and his fierce baronage,
And come to Alnwick ; they did not delay longer ;
But the Scots burnt and wasted the country.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 281
The church of Saint- Laurence l was that day violated,
Three priests in the church were by force castrated,
And three hundred men murdered, without a word of falsehood ;
.0 Never will they see a relation or any of their kindred.
And Odinel de Umfranvile has so well managed,
Such succour has gained, so help me Lord God,
That the king of Scotland will be enraged at heart ;
No relation that he had was ever so disgraced.
The king was at Alnwick with his great gathered host ;
And Odinel rides with the fierce company,
William 2 d'Estutevile who helps him very much,
And Ralph de Glanvile is not backward,
Lord Bernard de Baliol 3 with his furbished sword
JO Will lay hard upon the people of Albany,
And William de Vesci do not forget there.
The archbishop of York 4 gave them lodgings,
And sixty knights of his chivalry.
To Newcastle- on -Tyne, when the night is advanced,
Is come Odinel, who conducts and guides them :
That is the truth, whatever anybody may say about it.
There they heard news of this king of Albany,
That he was at Alnwick with a small suit.
With the Flemings and Frenchmen the Scots were not,
;0 But burn the country each of them at his best.
If it pleased you to hear a good deed done by good people,
I will tell you of this, of my own knowledge.
They have consulted together what they should do and how,
If they should go and attack this king and his people.
Thus answers Odinel : " Shame to him that forbids it !
I will strike there, please God, all at first :
He has done me a very great harm, and my heart is grieved at it ;
And if God allowed us to take vengeance,
We shall make a good job of it, by my knowledge.
0 Let us go and attack them ; and, if he waits for us,
He will be discomfited, and his host likewise."
Said Bernard de Baliol : "He who has no courage now
Can have no honour nor anything which appertains to it."
Said Ralph de Glanvile : " Let us act prudently :
Let us send a spy to reckon their forces ;
And we will come afterwards, if God allows us.
Since the Scots are not there, we do not care the least about them,"
Odinel sends for all his best troops,
Roger the son of Richard has also sent for his.
0 Now have the barons each assumed courage,
And go to Alnwick by night closely.
And then in the morning, when the day dawned,
The king of Scotland had his head well armed
1 This is the church of Warkworth. See line 1903.
2 According to Dugdale (Baron, i. 455), the name of the baron who captured
William v/as Robert, and not William.
3 See the authority last cited, i. 523.
4 Archbishop Roger, consecrated A. D. 115-1, died 1181.
282 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. „
And five hundred knights in a band,
Who all keep saying to him : " Beware of trust to cowardice.
Yours is Northumberland, whether they weep or laugh."
And said the king of Scotland : " We will wait for our host,
And then with great vigour we shall assault the castle.
Because of the heat, which is great, lords, let us dine."
1760 And he uncovers his head, very well we know it :
We who compose this history do not wish to lie.
Before the 'castle the king had stopped ;
His servants bring him what he has dined upon.
And our knights went into a copse ;
There they have their spy who told them all.
Says Ralph de Glanvile : " Thank the Lord God !
Now take your arms, beware of being fearful."
Then might you see knights quickly stirring,
Mounting on their horses and their arms seizing ;
1770 There will be no impediment to keep them from attacking them :
That which one of them wishes, pleases the other.
The king of Scotland was brave, wonderful and bold,
Before Alnwick he stood unarmed.
I do not relate a fable as one who has heard say,
But as one who was there, and I myself saw it.
When these had once cried the war-signal of Vesci
And " Glanvile, knights !" and " Baliol !" likewise,
Odinel de Humfreville raised a cry of his own,
And another that of Estutevile, a bold knight.
1780 Then knew king William that he was nearly betrayed ;
Quickly he stirred himself, he was not disconcerted.
The king arms himself soon and hastily,
And mounted on a horse which was not slow,
And goes to the fight with very great boldness.
The first whom he struck, he knocks to the ground.
The fight was very great of the king and his troops.
Every thing would have gone on well, to my knowledge,
Were it not for a Serjeant who rushes up to him ;
With the lance which he held, he pierces his horse.
1790 You must not ask if the king was sorrowful :
The sin of the Scots is an encumbrance to him.
The king falls to the ground, and the grey horse.
The king and his horse are both on the ground,
He could not get up, the horse lay upon him :
Now he has enough of labour and trouble and vexations,
When servants and esquires pass by him ;
He will hear news, to my knowledge, to-day ;
He cannot much help himself nor others.
Great was the battle and stubborn on both sides ;
1 800 You might see darts enough thrown and arrows shot,
The bold fighting and the cowardly flying.
Of the unfortunate Flemings great carnage was made,
[You might see] their bowels dragged from the bodies through the
fields,
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 283
Never again in their country will they cry, Arras !
The king lay on the ground thrown down, as I tell you ;
Between his legs lay the horse upon him ;
Never again will he rise from it for relation or friend,
If the horse is not drawn from him, with which he is encumbered ;
He will always be humbled and disgraced.
0 He was soon taken, with my two eyes I saw it,
By Ralph de Glanvile, to whom he then surrendered ;
And all his boldest knights are taken.
There was no favour : all were enemies.
Our knights on this side, never did I see better,
Love not the Flemings, who had then betrayed them ;
But they keep killing them. I know not what more to say to you.
The king surrenders himself prisoner to Ralph, truly ;
He could not do otherwise, what else could he do ?
And Ralph was glad, when he sees and hears
;0 That the war of the king is really finished.
England is at peace, and the good people
Will no longer dread the Scots : they will not injure them at all.
Ralph de Glanvile has the king in custody,
[And he surrendered to him, and he grants it readily ;
He was not so delighted in any day of his life.]1
He takes off his armour, and forgets nothing.
On a palfrey mounted this king of Albany ;
So they led him gently, whatever may be said to you.
At Newcastle-on-Tyne they take lodgings,
0 And the others remained for their knights -service
And take those knights towards Albany.
Now the battle on both sides was well fought.
Certainly, our royal knights behave very well,
And those of Albany were very good vassals ;
But when they had lost what they regarded most,
Their natural lord, who was brought by them,
These are not all loyal to their king,
And they are knocked to the ground from their horses ;
In the midst of the battle they will be taken one and all.
0 It is no wonder if the gay and the cheerful are sorrowful.
Lord Roger de Mowbray went away flying ;
He behaved courteously, what should he wait for ?
All are his enemies, who are there fighting ;
And if they can take him, there will be no safeguard
From the king of England executing his pleasure on him.
And lord Adam de Porz, a very valiant baron,
Went away with him. Now they go spurring on.
It was well for them, God is a great guard to them,
For they were not caught by any man alive.
0 Certainly, if Adam de Porz had not been so far advanced,
He would have lost that day the little and the great ;
But God did not consent to it, who is a powerful King :
It would have been too great damage, for he is very valiant.
1 These two lines occur only in the Lincoln MS.
284 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Now I will tell you who were fighting well
Before Alnwick, the castle of which I sing :
Lord Alan de Lanceles, as long as he was standing,
Defended himself on the grey war-horse.
He was very old, a very great knight,
He had not jousted full thirty years before ;
1860 But was a good knight and of great knowledge.
If the king had known it, his word would have been welcome
Lord Alan was then taken and kept ;
Now he must give ransom, for his property is great.
William de Mortimer l behaved very well that day
He goes among the ranks like a mad boar,
Gives great blows and often takes his share of them ;
He found opposed to him a true knight,
Lord Bernard de Baliol, of whom you hear me speak ;
He knocked down him and his charger,
1870 He put him on parole, as is done for a knight.
Lord Bernard does well, he is not to be blamed ;
At the end of the battle he will be praised
Who strikes best with sword and best fights.
Raoul le Rus behaved well, but could not hold long :
More than one hundred attacked him, so as to impede him com
pletely.
If then he surrendered, it is no wonder ;
Unhappy man to have seen this war : he will pay very dear for it
Certainly Richard Maluvel behaved himself gloriously,
He gave enough of great blows, and he takes enough,
1880 As long as he was on horseback he feared nothing ;
He had a very good horse, good are his equipments,
And himself bold and brave, so I say without any falsehood.
He did on that day, to my knowledge,
As much as thirteen followers then present with him ;
But he loses the war-horse : for which he is very sorry.
It is struck through, and falls immediately :
It is a great pity, for he will be very sorry for it.
And over lord Richard stood many people ;
There was none that did not say : " Surrender directly."
1890 He therefore surrendered himself with very great unwillingness ;
Woe to him that he saw king William and his wild rashness.
I cannot tell you, it would be too long,
All those who were taken and led away with sorrow ;
But I will count to you nearly a hundred,
Whom William de Vesci ransomed quite at his pleasure.
And Bernard de Baliol and the other good people,
Walter de Bolebec,2 Odinel likewise,
Had prisoners at their departure.
Lords, do not marvel if they are discomfited :
1 900 The Scots have this day more than a thousand badly wounded,
And death has parted the sons from their fathers.
1 He was one of the hostages for the king of Scotland at the treaty of Falaise.
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 452. The Lincoln MS. incorrectly reads " Holebec."
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 285
One might see the grief, the tears and the cries
Which these wretches make in the monastery of Saint-Laurence ; l
Some have their bodies and breasts cut open.
The shorn priests were not spared there :
There is no occasion to ask if God is provoked at it
And if He detested king William for it ;
For his sin are many severely wounded,
And he himself was there on that day discomfited.
10 As far as I know, now hear the truth :
The king of England had then arrived,
And in the morning was then reconciled to saint Thomas.
When the king of the Scots was taken and brought,
At Newcastle- on -Tyne he was lodged at night,
And Ralph de Glanvile conducted him from thence.
Now he comes to Richmond, where he must sojourn
Until king Henry shall make known his pleasure.
The king was truly at saint Thomas the martyr's,
Where he confessed himself guilty, sinful and repentant,
20 And took his penance, do not consider it a light one ;
He took leave of it, he would not stay there ;
He wished to go to London, where he had great desire to go,
To see his city and his good people.
For the war of Scotland they have sorrowful hearts,
They feared much the king, and he is very sorry for it ;
But he will soon hear quite differently,
That all his enemies have taken flight.
When they heard news of the king at London,
Each equipped himself richly for his own part ;
30 In rich stuffs of silk they were variously dressed,
There is none that has not an ambling palfrey ;
And they issue from the town in a marvellous procession.
He ought to be a king truly who has such people under him.
Certainly, lord Henry le Blunt was the very first
Who went forward to kiss his lord.
You might easily have gone a league of land,
So long did the embracing of the king and his barons last ;
And the king of England begins to thank them :
They are very loyal subjects, so he says to them at first ;
40 And they thank him as their liege lord.
" Sire," so said Gervase Suplest, " let it be.
Let it not please the Lord God who made land and sea
That any one should call the Londoners traitors !
They would not commit treason if their limbs were cut off."
— " Certainly/' so says the king, " they may boast
And I will requite them, if they have need of me."
Thus they accompany the king to Westminster.
The Londoners rejoice at the arrival of their lord,
They give him presents and they pay him great honour ;
50 But he was pensive and somewhat distracted
For the king of Scotland who was raging,
* See line 1707.
286 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
And Roger de Mowbray, a noble warrior,
Who were destroying his land by night and by day.
But before the right hour of sleeping came,
There reached him such news as gave him great honour.
The king had gone into his own private room
When the messenger came ; he had undergone much fatigue :
He had neither drunk nor eaten three days of the week,
Nor closed his eyes on account of the certain news ;
1 960 But day and night he wearies himself in travelling :
He did very wisely, he will have a handsome present.
The king was leaning on his elbow and sleeping a little,
A servant was at his feet who rubbed them gently ;
There was no noise nor cry, and nobody spoke there,
No harp nor violin was heard there at all,
When the messenger came to the door and softly called.
And says the chamberlain : " Who are you there ? "
— "A messenger am I, friend ; now come nearer.
Lord Ralph de Glanvile sent me here
1970 To speak with the king, for he has great need of it."
And said the chamberlain : "In the morning let it be done/'
— " By my faith !" said the messenger, " but I must speak to him
instantly.
My lord has in his heart grief and vexation :
So allow me to enter, kind chamberlain/'
And says the chamberlain : "I dare not do it.
The king is asleep : you must withdraw/'
While thus they speak the king awoke,
And heard a crying at the door : " Open ! open ! "
— " Who is there ?" said the king ; " you must tell me."
1980 — " Sire," said the chamberlain, " you shall know it directly.
It is a messenger from the north, you know him very well :
A man of Ralph de Glanvile's ; Brien is his name."
— " By my faith !" said the king, " now I am very sorrowful :
He wants help, let him come in."
The messenger entered, who was very well bred
And saluted the king, as you may soon hear :
" Sire king, may God save you, who dwells in Trinity,
Your own person first, and then all your private friends ! "
— " Brien," said the king, " what news do you bring ?
1990 Has the king of Scotland entered Richmond?
Is Newcastle-on-Tyne, the fortress, seized ?
Is Odinel de Umfranvile taken or driven out ?
And are all my barons ejected from their lands ?
Messenger, by thy faith, tell me the truth.
They have served me unfortunately, if they be not revenged."
— " Sire," so said the messenger, " hear me a little.
Your barons of the north are good folks enough.
On behalf of my lord hear me graciously.
He sends you by me greeting and friendship,
2000 And my lady much more, with whom you are well acquainted.
[He informs you by me there is no need of your stirring.
JORDAN FANTOSME'S CHRONICLE. 287
The king of Scotland is taken and all his baronage."] l
And says king Henry : " Do you speak the truth?"
- " Yes, sire, indeed, you will know it in the morning :
[The archbishop of York, a wise and learned man,] 2
Will send you two private messengers ;
But I hastened first, who knew the truth.
I have scarcely slept these four last days,
Neither eaten nor drunk, so I am very hungry ;
0 But, at your pleasure, give me a recompense for it."
And answered the king : " You would be wrong to doubt it.
If you have told me the truth, you are rich enough.
Is the king of Scotland taken ? tell me the truth."
— " Yes, sire, by my faith ! May I be nailed to a cross,
Or hanged by a rope, or burnt at a great stake,
If to-morrow, ere noon, it be not all confirmed ! "
— " Then," says king Henry, " God be thanked for it,
And saint Thomas the martyr and all the saints of God ! "
Then the messenger went to his inn,
3 He has great plenty to eat and drink ;
And the king is so glad in the night and so delighted
That he went to the knights and awoke them all :
" Barons, awake, it is a good night for you.
I have heard such a thing as will make you glad :
The king of Scotland is taken, so I have been told for truth.
Just now the news came to me when I ought to have been in bed."
And say the knights : " Now thanks be to the Lord God ;
Now the war is finished, and your realm in peace."
Very fine seemed this night to king Henry.
) Next day, before noon, news came to him
From the archbishop of York whom they call Roger,
Who salutes his lord who leads the loyal.
When the king sees the messengers, never was he more glad ;
And sees that they say the same thing, so he answered them :
" Last night I heard the news when I was much displeased ;
To him who brought it me, reward shall be given."
He seized a switch, and handed it to Brien,
Ten liveries of his land for the trouble he had.
Hastily he takes his messengers, and sent them to David
' Who was brother of the king of Scotland ; never did I see a better
man.
He was at Leicester as vassal brave and bold ;
But he never was so sorrowful, as when he heard that message.
The king of England informs him the circumstances are such,
There is nothing but to surrender and to ask for his mercy.
David knew not in all the world better advice,
But to surrender the castle and then to come to king Henry.
Lords, all this business was done thus in eight days :
The king of England has peace, all his enemies are taken.
Now he orders the king of Scotland to be led to him quickly ;
1 These two lines occur only in the Lincoln MS., instead of the two preceding
ones. 2 Omitted in the Lincoln MS.
288 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
2050 For news came to him, that he must cross the sea :
His city Rouen is besieged ; he would not stay longer.
He takes David away with him, and goes to the sea ;
And Brien returned, who has no mind to stay ;
And he said to his lord that he must immediately bring
The king of Scotland to Southampton : the king desires he shoul<
pass the sea.
Henry the king, the son of Matilda, in a lucky hour may he hav<
been born !
He waits at Southampton for wind and weather and a good breeze
And lord Ralph de Glanvile makes haste to travel,
He brings with him the king of Scotland, who has a very sorrowfu
heart.
2060 Ralph de Glanvile and the king of Albany
Hasten to reach the king and his fleet.
The king had a good breeze, so he did not wait for them ;
When they came to Southampton, he was in Normandy.
I will tell you the truth, whatever any body may tell you.
The king had commanded on limb and life
Ralph de Glanvile, who had him in custody,
That he should cross in haste, and should not tarry.
The king arrived at Rouen, when the dawn appeared.
Before the evening came, peace was established ;
2070 And the king came to France with his great gathered host
And he has gone to France. The war is now finished.
END OF THE CHRONICLE-
THE ARCHBISHOPS OP CANTERBURY.
VOL. IV.
CATALOGUE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF
CANTERBURY.
From the Register of Henry de Esfria, Prior of Chris fs Church, Canterbury.
THESE ARCHBISHOPS PRESIDED IN THE CHURCH OF CANTERBURY
FROM A.D. 599.
[A.D. 598.] Augustine, who was first sent by St. Gregory, pope,
for the conversion of the Angli, in the time of
Ethelbert, who then reigned in Kent, and as far as
the river Humber; he was ordained archbishop of
the nation of the Angli, by Etherius, archbishop of
Aries, by command of St. Gregory, pope ; he occu
pied the see for sixteen years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 605.] Laurence, held the see for five years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 619.] Mellitus, held the see for five years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 624.] Justus, held the see for thirteen years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 631.] Honorius, held the see for eighteen years. The see
was vacant for eighteen months.
[A. D. 655.] Deusdedit, held the see for ten years. A vacancy for
three years.
[A.D. 668.] Theodore, held the see for twenty-two years. A
vacancy for one year.
[A.D. 693.] Bricthwald, held the see for thirty-seven years, six
months, and fourteen days. No vacancy.
[A.D. 731.] Tadwyn, held the see for three years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 735.] Nothelm, held the see for five years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 741.] Cuthbert, held the see for seventeen years. He was
the first that was buried in his church; all his
successors were buried in it, except Jambert.
[A.D. 759.] Bregwin, held the see for three years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 763.] Jambert, held the see for twenty-seven years. No
vacancy.
[A. D. 790.] Ethelard, held the see for thirteen years. No vacancy.
[A. D. 803.] Wilfrid, held the see for thirty-eight years. No
vacancy.
[A.D. 829.] Fleolgild, held the see for three months. A vacancy
for two years.
[A.D. 830.] Eylnothe,1 held the see for eleven years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 870.] Athelred, held the see for eighteen years. No
vacancy.
1 Or, more correctly, Cylnothe. He received his pall in 831, and died in 870.
u 2
292 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
[A.D. 891.] Plegemund, held the see for thirty-four years. No
vacancy.
[A.D. 923.]
[A.D. 928."
[A.D. 941.
[A.D. 959/
Adhelm, held the see for eleven years. No vacancy.
Wolf elm, held the see for thirteen years. No vacancy.
Odo, held the see for twenty-four years. No vacancy.
Dunstan, held the see for twenty-seven years. No
vacancy.
[A.D. 988.] Athelgar, held the see for one year and three months.
A vacancy of three months.
[A. D. 990.] Siric, held the see for five years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 995.] Aluric, held the see for eleven years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 1006.] Elphege, held the see for six years and eight months.
A vacancy for one year.
[A.D. 1013.] Livyng, held the see for seven years. No vacancy.
[A. D. 1020.] Eylnoth, held the see for eighteen years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 1038.] Eadsin, held the see for eleven years. No vacancy.
[A.D. 1050.] Robert, held the see for two years. A vacancy for
two years.
[A.D. 1052.] Stigand, held the see for seventeen years. A vacancy
for two years.
[A.D. 1070.] Lanfranc, held the see for nineteen years. A vacancy
for five years.
[A.D. 1093.] Anselm, held the see for sixteen years. A vacancy
for five years.
[A.D. 1114.] Ralph, held the see for eight years and six months.1
There was a vacancy foraone year, one month,
and sixteen days.
[A.D. 1123.] William, held the see for thirteen years and nine
months.2 A vacancy for two years, one month, and
fourteen days.
[A.D. 1130.] Theobald, held the see for twenty-two years and four
months.3 A vacancy for one year, one month,
and sixteen days.
[A.D. 1162.] Thomas, held the see for eight years, six months,
and eighteen days.4 A vacancy for two years, five
months,13 and twenty-eight days.
[A.D. 1174.] Richard, held the see for ten years,6 eight months,
and sixteen days.5 A vacancy for one year, two
months, and thirty days.
[A.D. 1184.] Baldwin, held the see for five years, eleven months,
and five days.6 A vacancy for two years, eleven
months, and four days.
1 Another MS. Catalogue, Jul. D 2, a Another copy of the same Cata-
reads " four months," and furnishes the logue, Vitell. E 17, reads "four months."
following readings : — b " eighteen days." Vitell.
2 " two years, one month, E 17.
and fourteen days." Jul. D 2. c " thirteen months."
3 "one year and sixteen Vitell. E. 17.
days." Jul. D 2.
* " two years and five
months." Jul. D 2.
5 " nine months." Jul. D 2.
6 " one year and six
months." Jul. D 2.
CATALOGUE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 293
[A.D. 1193.] Hubert, held the see for eleven years, eight months,
and six days.7 A vacancy for one year, eleven
months, and four days.
[A.D. 120?.] Stephen, held the see for twenty-one years, and
twenty-three days. A vacancy d for one year, four
months, and twenty-three days.
[A.D. 1229.] Richard Magnus, held the see for two years. A va
cancy for one year and eighteen weeks.
[A.D. 1233.] Eadmund, held the see for eight years. A vacancy
for three years, two months, and three days.
[A.D. 1245.] Boniface, held the see for twenty-six years, six
months, and eighteen days. A vacancy for two
years, ten weeks, and three days.
[A.D. 1272.] Robert Kilwarby, of the order of Preachers, held the
see for six years. A vacancy for forty-four weeks
and three days.
[A.D. 1279-] John Pecham, of the order of Minors, held the see
for thirteen years, forty-five wreeks, and five days.
A vacancy for one year, nine months, and sixteen
days.
[A.D. 1294.] Robert Winchelsee, held the see for seventeen years,
eight months, and twenty days. A vacancy for e
eight months and nineteen days.
[A.D. 1314.] Walter, held the see for thirteen years, eleven months,
and three days.
" one year, eight months, d ...... " one year and a half,
and six days." Jui D 2. and nine days." Vitell. E 17.
e ...... " nine months and one
week." Vitell. E 17.
II.
SUCCESSION OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF
CANTERBURY.
From brief Annals of Rochester, from Christ to the year 1160.
A.D. 596. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to the Angli, in the
eleventh indiction.
A.D. 604. On the consecration of Laurence as his successor,
Augustine dies.
A.D. 622. Laurence dies on the fourth of the nones of February
[2d Feb.]. Mellitus succeeds.
A.D. 626. Mellitus dies on the eighth of the kalends of May
[24th April]. Justus succeeds.
A.D. 634. Justus dies on the fourth of the ides of November
[10th Nov.]. Honorius succeeds.
A.D. 653. Death of Honorius, archbishop, on the twelfth of the
kalends of October [20th Sept.].
A.D. 655. Deusdedit is consecrated by Saint Ithamar, on the
seventh of the kalends of April [26th March].
A.D. 664. Death of Deusdedit, on the second of the ides of
June [12th June].
A.D. 668. Theodore is consecrated at Rome, by Vitalian, on
Sunday the seventh of the kalends of April [26th
March] .
A.D. 669. Theodore, archbishop, arrives in Kent, on Sunday
the sixth of the kalends of January [27th Dec.].
A.D. 690. Death of archbishop Theodore, on the thirteenth of
the kalends of October [19th Sept.].
A.D. 692. Brictwald, abbot of Reculver, is elected.
A.D. 693. Brihtwald is consecrated on the third of the kalends
of July [29th June].
A.D. 731. Archbishop Brihtwald dies on the sixth of the ides
of January [8th Jan.]. Tadwyn succeeds, and is
consecrated on the fourth of the ides of November
[10th Nov.], in the same year.
A.D. 734. Archbishop Tadwyn dies on the second of the kalends
of February [31st Jan.] ; and is succeeded by
Nothelm, presbyter of London.
A.D. 736. Pope Gregory sends the pallium to Nothelm.
SUCCESSION OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 295
A.D. 740. Nothelm dies on the sixteenth of the kalends of
November [17th Oct.]. Cuthbert, bishop of Here
ford, succeeds.
A.D. 758. Archbishop Cuthbert dies on the seventh of the
kalends of November [26th Oct.], and was the
first that was buried in his church : all his succes
sors were buried there too, except Jambert.
A.D. 759. Bregewin- is consecrated archbishop, on St. Michael's
day [29th Sept.].
A. D. 762. Archbishop Bregewin dies on the eighth of the kalends
of September [25th Aug.].
A.D. 763. Jambert is consecrated archbishop, on the day of the
Purification of St. Mary [2d Feb.].
A.D. 764. Jambert receives the pallium from pope Paul.
A.D. 790. Archbishop Jambert dies on the second of the ides of
August [12th Aug.]. Abbot Adelard succeeds.
A.D. 793. Adelard is consecrated archbishop, on the twelfth of
the kalends of August [21st July].
A.D. 799. Archbishop Adelard proceeds to Rome.
A.D. 803. Bishop Adelard dies. Wulfred succeeds.
A.D. 812. Archbishop Wulfred goes to Rome.
A.D. 829. Archbishop Wulfred dies; whom Feologild succeeds.
Consecrated on the fifth of the ides of June [9th
June] ; dies on the third of the ides of September
[30th Aug.].
A.D. 830. Chelnoth, dean, elected on the third of the kalends
of July [29th June] ; consecrated on the sixth of
the kalends of September [27th Aug.].
A.D. 870. Archbishop Chelnoth dies. Adelred succeeds.
A.D. 889. Archbishop Adelred dies. Pleimund succeeds.
A.D. 924. Archbishop Dunstan born. Wulfhelm succeeds arch
bishop Adelm.
A.D. 933. On the death of archbishop Wulfhelm, Odo succeeds.
A.D. 958. Archbishop Odo takes his departure. Alfsin succeeds.
A.D. 959. Alfsin, on his way to Rome, is frozen to death in the
Alps. Brihtwald is elected ; and, on his being
set aside, Dunstan is consecrated.
A D. 988. Archbishop Dunstan dies on the fourteenth of the
kalends of June [19th May]. Edelgar, bishop of
Selsey, succeeds ; he occupied the see for one year
and three months.
A. D. 990. Siric is consecrated archbishop.
A.D. 995. Archbishop Siric dies. Elfric, bishop of Wilton,
succeeds.
A.D. 1006. Archbishop Alfric dies. St. Aelfeg, bishop of Win
chester, succeeds.
A.D. 1012. In this year, on the thirteenth of the kalends of May
[19th April], archbishop Aelfeg suffers martyrdom.
A.D. 1013. Living, otherwise called Aedelstan.. bishop of Wells,
obtains the archbishopric.
A.D. 1020. Archbishop Living dies. Athelnoth succeeds.
296 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
A.D. 1022. Athelnoth goes tc Rome, and receives the pallium
from pope Benedict.
A.D. 1038. Athelnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, dies. Edsy,
the king's chaplain, succeeds.
A.D. 1050. Archbishop Edsy dies, and is succeeded by Robert.
A.D. 1054. Archbishop Robert is banished out of England, and
dies at Jumiege. Stigand succeeds,
A.D. 1058. Pope Benedict sends Stigand the pallium.
A.D. 1070. Stigand, with the approbation of pope Alexander, is
degraded ; and Lanfranc is appointed.
A.D. 1071. Lanfranc goes to Rome, and receives the pallium
from pope Alexander.
A.D. 1072. Archbishop Stigand dies.
A.D. 1089. Lanfranc dies on the fifth of the kalends of June
[28th May]. He held the see for eighteen years,
nine months, and two days.
A.D. 1093. Anselm is elected on the second of the nones of
March [6th March], and is consecrated on the
second of the nones of December [4th Dec.].
A.D. 1095. Anselm receives the pallium, which had been sent to
king William by pope Urban the Second.
A.D. 1097. Anselm passes over to the continent.
A.D. 1102. A council is held at Westminster ; Anselm presides.
A.D. 1109. Archbishop Anselm dies on the eleventh of the
kalends of May [21st April].
A.D. 1114. Ralph, bishop of Rochester, is elected archbishop on
the sixth of the kalends of May [26th April].
A.D. 1122. Archbishop Ralph dies on the fourteenth of the
kalends of November [19th Oct.].
A.D. 1123. William, prior of Chich, is elected archbishop, on
the festival of the Purification [2d Feb.] ; is con
secrated on the twelfth] of the kalends of March
[18th Feb.], and receives the pallium from pope
Calixtus.
A.D. 1130. Christ Church, Canterbury, is dedicated on the fourth
of the nones of May [4th May] .
A.D. 1135. William, archbishop of Canterbury, dies on the
eleventh of the kalends of December [21st Nov.].
A.D. 1137. On the fourth of the nones of June [2d June], in this
year, the church and the whole city of Rochester,
together with all the buildings belonging to the
bishop and the monks, are burnt to the ground ;
and on the twentieth of June, in the same year,
dies John, bishop of the church of Rochester.
A.D. 1138. In this year, on the sixth of the ides of January [8th
Jan.], Archbishop Theobald is consecrated.
A.D. 1148. Ascelin, bishop of Rochester, dies, and is succeeded
by Galfrid, brother of archbishop Theobald.
III.
DATES OF THE DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS
OF CANTERBURY.
From the Martyrology and Obituary of Christ Church, Canterbury.
AUGUSTINE.
On the seventh of the kalends of June [26th May], in England, in
the city of Canterbury, died St. Augustine, archbishop and
confessor, who, having been sent by the blessed bishop
Gregory, first preached the gospel to the Angles ; he is still
bright with the lustre of repeated miracles.
On the ides of September [13th Sept.], the translation of Augus
tine, archbishop and confessor.
LAURENTIUS.
MELLITUS.
On the eighth of the kalends of May [24th April], the deposition
of St. Mellitus, bishop in Britain.
DEUSDEDIT.
THEODORE.
On the thirteenth of the kalends of October [19th Sept.], the depo
sition, at Canterbury, of blessed Theodore, archbishop of
the same city, and confessor.
BRICHWALD.
On the sixth of the ides of January [8th Jan.], died archbishop
Brichwald.
NOTHELM.
On the seventeenth of the kalends of November1 [1 6th Oct.], died
Nothelm, archbishop of Canterbury.
1 So also the ancient obituary in the Cottonian MS., Nero C. is.
298 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
CUTHBERT.
On the eighth of the kalends of November [25th Oct.], died Cuth-
bert, of happy memory, sometime archbishop.
BREGWIN.
On the seventh of the kalends of September [26th Aug.], was the
deposition, at Canterbury, of Bregwin, of blessed memory,
archbishop of the same city, and confessor.
LAMBERT.
On the third of the ides of August [llth Aug.], died Lambert,
archbishop, of pious memory.
ATHELARD.
On the fourth of the ides of May [12th May], died Athelard, arch
bishop, of venerable memory, through whom Christ Church
recovered the following lands that had formerly been taken
from it: — Thenham, Charryngis, Celebecces, Charte, Brem-
lande, Burnam ; and six dwelling-houses in Canterbury,
near Edburgewell.
WULFRED.
On the ninth of the kalends of April [24th March], died Wulfred,
archbishop, at whose solicitation king Kenulph gave to Christ
Church Ritherlege, Kyngestulande, Ibintone, Casinborne,
Elmestede, Barcham, Gravene, Apynglonde, Bynnene,
Myltone, Godmersham, Byxle, Coppenstane, Gretmerse,
Scaledword, Eathehorne, Langdone, Castonre, Waldyntone,
Folqueslande, Botewell, Heldesrede, Tyngeland, Wamble in
Middlesex, Geddyng, Cumbe, Herghese, Ottforde, Borne.
FELOGELD.
On the fourth1 of the kalends of September [29th Aug.], died Felo-
geld, of pious memory, archbishop ; also Wallerann, bishop
of Rochester, and Turged, bishop of St. Andrew's, in Scot
land.
CELNOD.
On the second of the nones of February [4th Feb.], died Celnod,
archbishop, who bought with his own money of a nobleman
named Heled, a vill called Chert, and gave it to Christ
Church.
ATHELRED.
On the second of the kalends of July [30th June], died Athelred,
lord archbishop.
1 The obituary in Nero C. ix. refers his death to the third of the kalends of
September [30th Aug].
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 299
PLEGMUND.
On the fourth of the nones of August [2d Aug.], the deposition, at
Canterbury, of Plegemund, archbishop and confessor.
ACHELM.
On the sixth of the ides of January [8th Jan.], died archbishop
Achelm.
On the second of the ides of February [12th Feb.], died archbishop
Achelm.1
ODO.
On the fourth of the nones of June [2d June], in Kent, died Odo,
archbishop and confessor.
DUNSTAN.
On the fourteenth of the kalends of June [19th May], in the city
of Canterbury, occurred the death of our holy father Dun-
stan, archbishop, who, sanctified even from his mother's
womb, nobly spent every portion of his life : for which
reason also he rested with a glorious end.
On the twelfth of the kalends of November [21st Oct.], the ordi
nation, at Canterbury, of the blessed Dunstan, archbishop,
respecting whom even a Divine revelation attests how worthy
his life was of the episcopal rank.
ETHELGAR.
On the third of the nones of December [3d Dec.], died Lotarius,2
of pious memory, archbishop.
SIRIC.
On the fifth of the kalends of November 3 [28th Oct.], died Siric,
of pious memory, archbishop of Canterbury.
ALFRIC.
On the sixteenth of the kalends of December [16th Nov.], the de
position, at Canterbury, of Alfric, of blessed memory,
archbishop of the same city, and confessor.
ELPHEGE.
The sixteenth of the kalends of December 16th Nov.]. The
same day was the ordination of St. Elphege, archbishop of
Canterbury, and martyr ; which ordination God vouchsafed
to reveal by his apostle.
On the thirteenth of the kalends of May [19th April], was the day
of the death of St. Elphege, archbishop of Canterbury, who,
1 " I am of opinion that one or other of the two preceding dates appertains to
Wulfelm ; for it is no unusual thing for our historians to confound Athelm with
Wulfelm." — Note by Wharton.
2 Such is the reading of the text.
3 The second of the kalends of October [30th Sept.], according to Nero C. ix.
300 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
after the destruction of the city by the Pagan army, after
the cruel massacre of the innocent people, and after the
plunder of the church, was led forth in chains, and, after-
being subjected to various sorts of torture for seven »
months, was at last stoned by the hands of the exasperated
Pagans, and received the crown of martyrdom.
The sixth of the ides of June [8th June]. On this day St.
Elphege, archbishop of Canterbury, and martyr, was trans
lated from London to Christ Church, in Kent.
LIVING.
On the second of the ides of June [12th June], died archbishop
Living, of happy memory, who gave Mersham and Chey-
ham to Christ Church, Canterbury.
ATHELNOTH.
On the fifth of the kalends of November1 [28th Oct.], died Achel-
nod, of pious memory, archbishop of Canterbury.
EDSY.
On the third of the kalends of November [30th Oct.], died Syward,
the suffragan bishop of Edsi.
ROBERT [ejected].
STYGAND 3 [deposed]
LAN FRANC.
On the fifth of the kalends of June [28th May], died archbishop
Lanfranc, of happy memory, the most devoted follower and
the most resolute defender of the Catholic faith, who, with
the aid of Divine grace, built that church from its founda
tion, and completed it ; he also adorned it with many
comely decorations, some made of the purest gold, some
of gold set with jewels, some, though without gold or
jewels, yet of exceeding value ; he likewise provided it with
numerous monks of distinguished piety, and beautified
it of religious worship of an imposing solemnity. The
gates, too, the cellars, refectories, dormitories, and all
other requisite offices, and all the buildings within the
boundary- wall of the court, together with the boundary-
wall itself, he built in a style that excited the wonder
of beholders. He also bestowed upon the church the
1 The MS. Nero C. ix. refers his death to the fifth of the kalends of October
[27th Sept.].
2 The MS. last quoted ascribes his death to the fifth of the kalends of October
[27th Sept.], and the obituary of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, to the fourth of the
kalends of November [29th Oct.].
3 According to the obituary of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, and an early Saxon
calendar of the church of Winchester, he died upon the eighth of the kalends of
March [22d Feb.] ; but the obituary of Ely refers his decease to the ninth of the
kalends of March [21st Feb.].
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 301
special ornament of a valuable library, and many of the
books which it contained were corrected with his own hand.
The archbishop of York, and other prelates of this king
dom, who had revolted from their subjection to this church,
he brought back to their due and bounden submission. By
his means, too, and by his active exertions, the church
recovered all those lands which are mentioned in the anni
versary day of king William, and which had, for a long
time, been forfeited. Outside the city walls he erected large
dwelling-houses, which he filled with the poor and infirm,
whom he caused to be fed and clothed at his own cost and
charges. In like manner he erected, outside the city, the
church of St. Gregory, in which he placed clerks, by whom
those who died without leaving means for their interment
might be received without any charge, and be borne thither,
and then be decently buried. In the manors that belonged
to the archbishop he built many handsome churches; and
provided many very beautiful mansions, both to minister to
the enjoyment and dignity of the archbishops, and to the
comfort of those poor persons who were so much and so
laboriously engaged in making ready the dwellings for the
reception of the archbishop. He also built the church of
Rochester from its foundation, and never ceased until he
had completed it in a beautiful manner ; he likewise em
bellished it with many elegant ornaments. Moreover, he in
troduced the venerable religious observances of the monks ;
and he recovered lands which had been alienated for a long
time from the church, and allowed the monks to hold them
as a means of providing themselves with food and raiment.
He also laid the foundation of the church of St. Alban's,
and nearly finished it ; he likewise enriched it with many
valuable ornaments.
Let the obit of Lanfranc be recited in its order, although
it occur in Whitsun week. As often as the anniversary
of lord archbishop Lanfranc is announced in the chapter,
let all the brethren proceed in a body to the church, singing
" Verba mea," the bells all ringing in the meantime. After
supper, when the bell rings to vigils, let all assemble,
as usual ; let them spend the vigils in festivity ; let two
sing the third response ; three, the sixth ; and four, the
ninth. On the morrow each priest is to chant one mass
for him ; and let those who do not chant mass, chant
fifty psalms. Let the mass be joyfully celebrated by the
convent, in albs ; at which let there be a singer and two
other brethren with him, clad in copes ; three for the
response ; four for the tract, likewise in copes. On the
same day the treasurers are to give forty shillings to feed
the poor. The service of the refectory is to be performed
in a gladsome manner, as on the festival of an apostle.
Let the church continue fitted up, as at the festival of
St. Augustine, until service is over.
302 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
ANSELM.
RALPH.
On the thirteenth of the kalends of November [20th Oct.], died
Ralph, archbishop.
WILLIAM.
On the eleventh of the kalends of December [21st Nov.], died Ion
William, archbishop, of happy memory.
THEOBALD.
On the fourteenth of the kalends of May [18th April], died lord
Theobald, of venerated memory, archbishop of Canterbury
THOMAS BECKET.
The fourth of the nones of December [2d Dec.]. On the
day returned from exile St. Thomas the martyr, who, after
lingering sufferings, by which he shone forth daily a fresh
martyr, like gold thrice tried in the furnace, and theifl
deposited in the royal treasures, was in the seventh yea i
called by the Lord to receive the palm, under the tes*l
of the sword, as if, when the swords were shown him, h<3
were addressed by the Lord : — " Friend, wherefore ar
thou come ? "
The fourth of the kalends of January [29th Dec.]. On this da^_
occurred, at Canterbury, the Passion of the venerable
father Thomas, of the same city, archbishop, and a gloriou; <
martyr. He, after the tedious pains of exile, which h«
patiently endured for righteousness' sake, at last, througl »
Divine compassion, was restored, and after having beer -.
honourably received in his church, was, in defence of liberty
herself, in the same church, struck dead by the swords of
wicked men. Thus did the vigorous champion, having
held out in conflict to the last, laurelled with his own blood
and like a distinguished victor, joyfully ascend to Christ, ir
whose defence he had faithfully contended. His glory in
witnessed by a perpetual recurrence of miracles, which
after his passion, followed in such numbers, and are still sc
multiplied daily, that we can scarcely find, up to the present
time, any saint in whose behalf so many have been wrought
The nones of July [7th July]. On the same day was the trans
lation of St. Thomas the martyr, archbishop of Canterbury ,
in the year of grace 1220, but in the fiftieth of the passior
of the same martyr, on the third day of the week. So thai
on one and the same day he was born to affliction, suffereot
unto glory, and was translated to honour. In whose trans
lation the Lord showed forth the miracles of his passion ;
in order that while old miracles were renewed by the
occurrence of fresh ones, the martyr might appear the more
glorious by the effulgence of signs and wonders.
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 303
RICHARD.
On the fourteenth of the kalends of March [16th Feb.], died
Richard, archbishop, of pious memory, monk of our con
gregation, who restored to us the churches of Estry,
Moncketone, Mepeham, and Eynesforde.
BALDWIN.
On the twelfth of the kalends of December [20th Nov.], died
Baldwin, archbishop.
REGINALD.
On the seventh of the kalends of January [26th Dec.], died Regi
nald, bishop of Bath, of pious memory, formerly [archbishop]
elect of Canterbury : for whom let service be performed in
the convent, as for an archbishop.
HUBERT.
On the third of the ides of July [13th July], died Hubert, archbishop.
On the third of the nones of August [3d Aug.], died Hubert, arch
bishop, of pious memory. x
STEPHEN.
On the seventh of the ides of July [9th July], died Stephen, of
happy memory, lord archbishop of Canterbury.
RICHARD.
On the third of the nones of August [3d Aug.], died archbishop
Richard, of pious memory.
EDMUND.
The sixteenth of the kalends of December [16th Nov.], On this
day was the deposition of St. Eadmund, archbishop of Can
terbury, and confessor.
On the fifth of the ides of June [9th June] was St. Edmund, arch
bishop of Canterbury, and confessor, translated.
BONIFACE.
On the fifteenth of the kalends of August [18th July], died arch
bishop Boniface, of happy memory. Be it remembered,
That in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred
and sixty-three, John de Westgate, then sub-prior, and the
chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury, being at that time
left destitute of the government of a prior, [intimated] 2 to
lord Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury [their intention]
of keeping his anniversary every year after his decease, in
form underwritten : —
1 So the MS. ; but there is obviously some confusion here. The true date of
Hubert's death is 13th July. See Hardy's Le Neve, i. 10.
2 The text is here imperfect ; the words within brackets have been supplied to
complete the sense.
304 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND,
" To the reverend father and lord, lord Boniface, by the
grace of God, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England, John, the sub-prior, and the chapter of Christ
Church, Canterbury, send health, and both devoted and
due obedience and reverence in the Lord.
" Be it known to you, reverend father, that we have with
devoted affection designed, with joyful mind decreed, and
with the common consent of the brethren ordained, (ac
cording to our sense of your noble clemency, which we
still find in you, and in past transactions have always expe
rienced,) that you shall participate in all the benefits and
advantages which have accrued, and shall hereafter accrue,
to our church ; adding thereto our special prayers in the
Lord, that He would preserve your doings and steps
prosperously, not only in this life but also for happier times,
according to His own will. Moreover, because it is a holy
and salutary thing to pray for those who have died in the
faith, that their sins may be forgiven : We have resolved that
your anniversary shall be yearly celebrated as a festival in
our church, when your race of life is run ; so that, on the
day of your anniversary, each priest shall celebrate a special
mass for the faithful ; and that the rest of the brethren,
who do not celebrate mass, or, in case of debility, are
unable to do so, shall recite fifty psalms for your soul.
And we will cause your name to be spread throughout
the whole of England, that in every chapter of the religious
your soul may by the presidents be fully absolved. In pur
suance of this, we have caused this present writing to be
transcribed in our Martyrology, that on each returning day
of your decease it may be solemnly recited in the chapter ;
and we have caused the same, sealed with our seal, to be
transmitted to you, that it may not be entrusted to the
forgetfulness of men, and that what has been piously
designed and wholesomely ordained by us, may for ever
continue in the recollection of the elders."
On the ides of September [13th Sept.], died lord Adam l de Chil-
lynden, of pious memory, prior of Christ Church, Canter
bury, and archbishop elect of the same church.
ROBERT KILWARBY.
On the third of the ides of September [llth Sept.], died lord
Robert, archbishop of Canterbury, of happy memory, who
was afterwards created cardinal.
JOHN PECHAM.
On the sixth of the ides of December [8th Dec.], died lord John de
Pecham, archbishop of Canterbury, of venerated memory,
of the order of the Friars Minors.
1 William, according to Godwin and others; concerning him, see WJiarton'i
Angl. Sacra, i. 140.
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 3U5
ROBERT WYNCHELSE.
On the fifth of the ides of May [llth May] died lord Robert de
Wynchylse, of renowned memory, sometime archbishop of
Canterbury ; he was, indeed, a pastor of more than com
mon eminence, a signal mirror of prelates, in morals and
virtue surpassing others. So did he combine modesty of
manners with purity of heart ; so did he mortify, with
watchful vigilance, the insidious provocatives of the flesh,
that by many he was believed to live, while in the flesh,
above the flesh. His deep-seated firmness never gave way
under adversity ; nor could he be moved by threats, or
seduced by bribes, to desert the path of righteousness. In
his lifetime he gave to the church of Canterbury a chasuble,
tunic, and dalmatic, together with a very costly cope for
the choir, and all his books. At length, having won the
victory over the wickedness of this world, on the fifth of the
ides of May [llth May], in the year of grace one thousand
three hundred and thirteen, at his manor of Ottford, he
paid the inevitable debt of all flesh. His body is deposited
in the church of Canterbury, near the altar of St. Gregory.
On the sixth of the kalends of September [27th Aug.] died Thomas
de Cobham, bishop of Worcester, of pious memory, for
merly [archbishop] elect of Canterbury.
WALTER.
On the fifteenth of the kalends of December [17th Nov.] died lord
Walter, archbishop, of happy memory, who was first bishop
of Worcester, and chancellor to our lord the king, and was
afterwards translated to the primacy of the church of Can
terbury ; a man both meek and affable, and specially devoted
to the celebration of holy services. He gave to the convent
the manor of Caldecote, with the wood of Thorholde, near
our barton ; and by his charter he confirmed it freely and
peaceably for himself and his successors for ever. Let
a service be solemnly performed for him in the convent, as
for prior Wybert.
SIMON MEPHAM.
On the fourth of the ides of October [12th Oct.] died lord Simon
de Mepham, of happy memory, sometime archbishop of
Canterbury, primate of all England, and legate of the
apostolic see, and doctor of divinity, canonically elected by
the chapter, and confirmed at the court of Rome ; for
whom let a service be solemnly performed in the convent.
The executor of his will, master Laurence Falstof, gave to
the convent fifty pounds, to purchase an annual payment of
forty shillings, to be spent every year on his anniversary.
VOL. IV.
306 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
JOHN STRATFORDE.
On the tenth of the kalends of September [23d Aug.] died lord
JohnStratforde, archbishop of Canterbury, of pious memory,
who gave to his church a cope of great value, together with
a most beautiful mitre, and two law books, namely, one of
the Decretals, and one of the Decrees. He also assigned
to the convent an annual stipend of one hundred shillings
from the church of Preston and Boctone, which he made
over to the monastery of Feversham ; for whom let a
service be performed in the convent, as for queen Ediva ;
and let each priest recite one mass, the rest fifty psalms.
JOHN UFFORD.
On the eleventh of the kalends of June [22d May] died John,
[archbishop] elect of Canterbury.
THOMAS BRADWARDYN.
On the seventh of the kalends of September [26th August] died
lord Thomas Bredwarden, archbishop of Canterbury.
SIMON ISLIP.
On the sixth of the kalends of May [26th April]. — Be it remem
bered, that, on the sixth of the kalends of May [26th April],
about one hour after midnight, in the year of our Lord
one thousand three hundred and sixty-six, lord Simon de
Iselep, archbishop of Canterbury, of cherished memory,
breathed his last at Magefeld. He left and bequeathed
certain goods to the prior and convent of his church at
Canterbury, in manner following, as by his will manifestly
appears : —
" Item : I bequeath to the prior and convent, who
shall officiate at my funeral, for the said day's service, for
one pittance, ten pounds. Item: I bequeath to my chapter,
or convent, six dozen of silver dishes, and as many silver
saltcellars of the better sort and newly made, and four
silver basins with my armorial bearings, with four ewers of
the same suit. Item: twenty-four silver cups and six silver
tankards for wine, on condition that they be used by the
convent in the refectory, and nowhere else ; for it becomes
the dignity of so great a chapter that (provided they set
aside vain glory) they be served and waited upon with more
than common state and attendance. And it is my desire
that those vessels remain in the custody and possession of
the convent. Nor shall it be lawful for the prior, or any
other person, of what condition or rank soever he may be,
nor even for any successor of mine, contrary to this my
last will and sentence of anathema, which, henceforth, he
that contravenes it may dread, to take out of the said
refectory those vessels, or any portion of them whatsoever,
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 307
under the pretence of any accommodation or loan, with
cause or without cause; nor may the convent lend, abstract,
or pawn them, or transfer them to any other use. Item :
I bequeath to the prior and his successors, priors of the
church of Canterbury, two silver basins, larger and better
than those above mentioned, which also have my arms.
Item : I bequeath to the prior and convent a thousand ewe
sheep, out of the best that I shall possess at the time of my
decease. And I will and appoint, that the best and most
prolific of their young ones be yearly preserved to keep up
the aforesaid number, or to increase it, if it shall please
God ; otherwise, the wool of at least the same number of
sheep shall always be provided. And let whatever wool
there is left, or the whole of it, as is aforesaid, with other
profits, if such there be, be annually distributed and fairly
divided for any necessary uses of the monks, for money or
otherwise, as the chapter shall appoint, by the hands of the
chamberlain for the time being ; in such manner that each
of the monks may, on the days of my anniversary, receive
what falls to his share, that, so remunerated, they may be
able to pray the more specially for my soul. And I will
that at least one, two, or three monks, yearly chosen by
common consent for this purpose, make a survey of the
sheep aforesaid, and take account of the number of heads,
and also of the increase or diminution of the number of
lambs, and of the profits otherwise accruing, as well from
the fleeces as from the sheep themselves ; an account of all
which matters they shall take, and faithfully report and
declare to our chapter. And all these things, besides my
golden vestment, which heretofore I have given to my
church, together with a valuable cope, I give and bequeath,
on this condition, and not otherwise, — that the said prior
and convent make for me one perpetual chantry, to be
celebrated or made by one of my brethren, or by any
secular or religious in my church aforesaid, according to
their appointment, with the consent of my executors for me
and for each of the archbishops, as well past as future ; and
that on each several day, he who so celebrates, and for
whomsoever he shall celebrate, be bound always to recite
this prayer, and according to this form :
" ' O God ! who hast caused thy servants Simon, and
John, and the rest of the archbishops of this church, to be
enrolled among apostolic priests with pontifical and archi-
episcopal dignity, grant, we beseech Thee, that they may
enjoy in heaven the everlasting society of those whose room
they filled on earth.'
" Item : That each of the monks, priests in the said
church, shall, four times a-year, at least once a quarter,
when the chapter shall think proper to appoint it, specially
celebrate the mass of the blessed Virgin, along with the
aforesaid prayer. Item : I will and appoint, that the prior
x2
308 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
and chapter shall celebrate the anniversary of my decease,
and cause the bells to toll solemnly, as is wont to be done
for other archbishops. Touching all which matters, so far
as they are concerned, let them draw up their letters testi
monial, to be sealed with their common seal, and delivered
forthwith to my executors/'
On the nones of October [7th Oct.], lord William Edynton, bishop
of Winchester, died, of happy memory, at one time [arch
bishop] elect of Canterbury, a benefactor of ours, who,
among other benefits of friendship, gave to the convent one
hundred marks, that is to say, to each monk one mark; the
rest for the necessary use of the church. He also gave to
the said church five copes, one chasuble, and three red
tunics with their pendicles and suits. On his anniversary,
let a service be performed in the convent, as for an
archbishop.
SIMON LANGHAM.
On the eleventh of the kalends of August [22d July] died the
venerable lord, lord Simon Langham, sometime archbishop
of this church, afterwards created cardinal.
WILLIAM WITTLESEY.
On the eighth of the ides of June [6th June] died lord William
Wytelesee, archbishop.
SIMON SUDBURY.
On the eighteenth of the kalends of July [14th June] died lord Simon
Sudbury, archbishop of this church, of happy memory.
WILLIAM COURTNAY.
On the second of the kalends of August [31st July] died lord
William Courtenay, of cherished memory, archbishop of
this church, who lived in the archbishopric for upwards of
fourteen years. During his life he conferred many benefits
upon his church at Canterbury; for instance, he expended,
out of his beneficence, upon the building of the nave of the
church, of the cloisters, and upon the cellarer's garden,
upwards of a thousand marks ; he gave to the high altar a
valuable cope set with rubies and pearls ; a Trinity with six
apostles of a hundred and sixty pounds weight ; he left, by
will, a white vestment with six copes, and a green one with
seven copes. As a monk of this church, he was affable,
devout, and compassionate. He repaired the church of
Mepham, for the use of infirm brethren ; and he caused
four dwelling-houses to be built at his own cost : for which
his anniversary is to be observed yearly, as for lord Simon
Islepe, sometime archbishop of this church; and two monks
are to perform service for his soul. He also bequeathed to
his church, at Canterbury six valuable books — t*he Mille-
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 309
loquium of Augustine, and a Dictionary in three volumes,
and Doctor de Lyra in two volumes ; which books, accord
ing to the will of the said reverend father, are to remain in
the possession of master Richard Courtney till the end of
his life ; and the said books master Richard is to order his
executors to give up to the church of Canterbury, after his
death, under a penalty of three hundred pounds; as is more
fully set forth in a certain written engagement, and in an
indenture thence drawn up, which are kept in our chancery.
THOMAS ARUNDELL.
On the eleventh of the kalends of March [19th Feb.] died the
most reverend in Christ and Lord, lord Thomas Arundell,
archbishop of Canterbury, of cherished memory, primate of
all England, and legate of the apostolic see, son of the
worthy lord, lord Richard, earl of Arundel and Warren.
He was first bishop of Ely, then archbishop of York, and
afterwards translated to this holy church of Canterbury, by
the unanimous invitation of its prior and chapter. He was
a man of singular wisdom, of distinguished genius, cautious
and circumspect in everything that was to be done ; and in
the discharge of his episcopal duty, assiduous and exceed
ingly earnest. To the sovereigns who reigned during his
time, and to the kingdom, he was exceedingly welcome, by
reason of the ripeness of his sound advice. Moreover, he
was oftentimes chancellor of the same kingdom.
The same lord archbishop also conferred many highly
commendable benefits upon this church ; for instance, — a
green vestment with twenty- one copes of one suit, and
another of sumptuous cloth of gold, a gold mitre set with
divers gems and precious stones, a large silver pastoral staff
gilt all over, a gold chalice for the high altar, with two gold
flagons of the value of two hundred marks, and another
gold chalice, for the festival of St. Thomas, valued at forty
pounds, with various other jewels, three silver basins that
hang before the high altar, five bells of exceedingly sweet
tone, commonly called " the Arundel Ryng." He also gave
two missals, a great number of valuable books, and other
church ornaments. He contributed likewise to the build
ing of the nave of the church a thousand marks ; he also
procured the annexation and union of the church of God-
mersham to this church; out of the fruits and rents of
which he desired that six shillings and eightpence should be
annually given to each of the monks of this church, on the
anniversary of the return of the precious martyr Thomas, in
remembrance of him. He also bequeathed to this church
a valuable volume containing all the works of St. Gregory,
forbidding any one, under penalty of the greater excom
munication — which he actually thundered forth — to alienate
the volume in any way from the church of Canterbury.
And after the death of the said lord archbishop, the execu-
310 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
tors of his last will, or testament, banded over to the prior
and monks of this church a hundred pounds of English
money, to be distributed according to the will and pleasure
of the then prior of the same church and his brethren.
And let it not be forgotten that, among other actions of the
same lord archbishop which are worthy of endless praise,
he, like a puissant champion of the church, vigorously
repressed that faithless sect of the Lollards, which at that
time was gaining ground in the kingdom. And at length,
in the eighteenth year of his translation to this church, and
in the one thousand four hundred and thirteenth of the
Incarnation of our Lord, on the eleventh of the kalends of
March [19th Feb.], at the rectory of the church of Hakyn-
ton, he died with a glorious departure. A service is to be
solemnly performed for him for ever in the convent.
HENRY CHICHELE.
On the second of the ides of April [12th April] died lord Henry
Chichele, archbishop of this church; to whose soul may
the Most High be merciful.
JOHN STAFFORDE.
On the eighth of the kalends of June [25th May] died the most
reverend father in Christ and Lord, lord John Stafforde,
archbishop of this church, of cherished memory.
JOHN KEMP.
On the eleventh of the kalends of April [22d March] died the
most reverend father in Christ and Lord, lord John Kempe,
with the title of cardinal bishop of St. Rufina, of the holy
Roman church, and archbishop of this holy church of
Canterbury.
THOMAS BOURCHIER.
On the third of the kalends of April [30th March] died the most
reverend father in Christ and Lord, lord Thomas Bowrs-
chyre, with the title of cardinal priest of St. Ciriacus in
Termis, of the holy Roman church, and archbishop of this
holy church of Canterbury ; who gave to this church the
beautiful image of the Trinity, made of gold and set with
jewels, and twenty- seven copes of crimson tissue, with full
robes, of one suit, for a priest, a deacon, and a sub-deacon.
JOHN MORTON.
On the sixteenth of the kalends of October [16th Sept.] died the
most worshipful father in Christ and Lord, lord John
Morton, doctor of laws, sometime master of the rolls ; he
was next bishop of Ely, and he was afterwards translated to
the holy church of Canterbury, as to a superior see : lastly,
DECEASE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 311
he was made chancellor to the king's majesty, and to the
university of Oxford; and so by the supreme pontiff he was
honoured with the title of a cardinal priest: for he was
animated with the warmest zeal for divine worship, and was
a distinguished counsellor of the king's majesty and of the
whole commonwealth. And such were this great man's
authority and moral courage, that the church of England
asserted her dignity and freedom; and if there was any
thing that appeared to him to have a tendency to advance
the glory of that church, he tried to secure it with all his
heart, and with his most earnest endeavours ; while he
warded off with his utmost diligence whatever was calcu
lated to harm her. And such was his affection for his
mother — the church of Canterbury — that he bequeathed to
her a very valuable gift ; that is to say, eighty most costly
and richly- ornamented copes, white coloured, with all other
things appertaining to a priest, a deacon, and a sub-deacon,
with his own name and coat-of-arms, and entirely covered
over with the purest gold, and with beautifully formed
letters, making up this most pleasing motto, " Deo sit
gratiarum actio," to the praise of God and in memory
of himself. He gave also, out of his great munificence,
a very beautiful funeral pall, made of black silk, designed for
the corpses of the dead, fringed all round with the purest
gold. Finally, a large portion of the lantern tower of the
church was erected at his cost and charges. Moreover, he
had educated at his own expense two brethren, students at
the university of Oxford, for the advancement of the ortho
dox faith, and the preaching of the word of God, for a
period of twenty years after his decease, and for seven years
during the life of the same venerable father. He would
have bestowed, in addition, many other gifts worthy of
being recorded, if nature had granted him a longer life ; for
when, through the goodness of God, he had drawn out this
human life, doubtless happily, to nearly his eightieth year,
a quartan ague (a disorder peculiarly prejudicial to his
constitution) carried him off. And although he had been
very often urged by several persons to build for himself a
sepulchre of suitable dimensions, sumptuousness, and magni
ficence, he chose a burial-place, not in open view, not in a
place frequented, but in a private spot, underground, within
the crypt, covered only with a marble slab, before our
image of the most blessed Virgin Mary, whom he loved in
his heart : there his happy corpse now reposes. In that
place two brethren daily celebrate, with the utmost devotion,
two masses, with the " Placebo " and " Dirige," for his soul,
during the space of twenty years. And the said venerable
lord appointed for the remuneration of those two brethren
forty pence, to be paid weekly, as is more fully set forth in
this present book. The Most High grant that his soul may
enjoy everlasting rest !
312 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
HENRY DENE.
On the fifteenth of the kalends of March [15th Feb.] died lord
Henry Dene, archbishop of this church.
On the fifteenth of the kalends of October [17th Sept.] died lord
Thomas Wellys,1 bishop of Sidon, and prior of St. Gregory.
On the thirteenth of the kalends of December [19th Nov.] died the
reverend father in Christ, lord Richard Marten,2 suffragan,
a brother and a benefactor of ours, who gave to Christ -
church, Canterbury, a mitre with his pastoral staff.
1 Prior of the church of St. Gregory at Canterbury, about A.D. 1505, and
survived the year 1511. Angl. Sacra, i. 790.
2 Provost of the Minorities of Canterbury. In his will, dated A.D. 1498, he
styles himself " Episcopus ecclesise Catholicse." Id.
THE END.
HISTORY OE THE AECHBISHOPS
OP CANTERBURY BY RALPH DE DICETO.
THE HISTORY OP THE ARCHBISHOPS
OF CANTERBURY.
From the first foundation of the See, to the Year One Thousand Two
Hundred. By Ralph de Diceto.
BE it observed, in the first place, that in the time of the Britons
there were three archbishoprics in England ; — one in the city of
London, to which Loegria and Cornubia were subject ; another in
York, to which Deira and Albania were subject ; the third in the
city of the Legions, that is, Kirlyim, which is now called St. David's,
to which Cambria was subject. We have not the names of these
bishops in full, but some of them are inserted above in the
Catalogue of the Kings.1 A few of these are subjoined : —
ARCHBISHOPS OF
LONDON.
Guitelinus.
Theonus.
ARCHBISHOPS OF
YORK.
Samson.
Peramus.
Cadiocenus.
ARCHBISHOPS OF THE
CITY OF LEGIONS.
Dubricius.
St. David.
But in the time of the Angli, who were converted by St.
Augustine, the metropolitan see was placed at Dorobernia, that is,
Canterbury. To this seventeen bishops were subject ; but York
had only three under it, as has been said (supra 52). Then the
archbishopric of London, which existed in the time of the Britons,
and the archbishopric of the city of Legions, were subjected to the
archbishop of Canterbury, and the archbishoprics were changed
into bishoprics.
Of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
AUGUSTINE, sent to England in the time of St. Gregory, pope, in
the year of our Lord five hundred and ninety-six, was first con
secrated archbishop of Canterbury. He converted Ethelbert, king
of Kent, to the Christian faith, who assigned him his episcopal seat
in Dorobernia, that is, Canterbury, his metropolis. Supported by
the royal authority, Augustine repaired, for those of the Roman
faith, a church that had been erected of old in the time of the
Britons, and consecrated it to the name of our Saviour. When
Gregory heard of this, he wrote to congratulate him on the con
version of that nation. The same pope wrote also to Theodoric,3
1 Diceto here refers to a previous work of his own, which 'occurs in the same
MS. from which the present history is transcribed.
2 See the previous note. 3 Regest. lib. v. ep. 58, Opp. ii. 692, ed, 1675.
316 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
king of the Franks, to thank him for the benefits which he had
bestowed upon Augustine and his companions, while they were on
their way to England. Meanwhile Augustine, the man of God,
went to Aries,1 and was by Etherius, bishop of that city, conse
crated bishop of the nation of the Angli. On his return to Britain,
he instantly despatched Laurence, a presbyter, and Peter, a monk,
to inform St. Gregory that the people of the Angli had embraced
the faith of Christ, and that he himself had been made a bishop.
And St. Gregory sent with the forementioned messengers many
assistants and preachers of the word of God ; among whom the
first and chief were Mellitus 2 and Justus, Paulinus and Ruphianus.
He also sent a letter,3 in which he informs him that he sends him
the pallium, in the eleventh year of his pontificate. He likewise
hints to him after what manner he ought to appoint bishops in
Britain, writing in these terms :—
" Whereas the pseudo-church 4 of the Angli hath been brought
to the grace of Almighty God, by the blessing of the same Lord
and thy exertions, we grant thee the use of the pallium in it, only
for the performance of the ceremonies of the mass ; also that thou
mayest ordain bishops for twelve places, which are to be subject to
thy jurisdiction : provided, however, that the bishop of the city of
London shall always hereafter be consecrated by a synod of his
own, and receive the pallium of honour from this holy and apostolic
see, in which, under the providence of God, we minister. We will
that thou send a bishop to the city of York, whom thou shalt think
proper to ordain ; only let it be understood, that if the same city,
with its neighbours, receive the word of God, he also is to ordain
twelve bishops, and to enjoy the dignity of a metropolitan, whom it
is our wish to subject to the jurisdiction of thy fraternity. But
after thy decease he is so to preside over the bishops whom he shall
have ordained, that he shall in no wise be under the jurisdiction of
the bishop of London. And let there henceforth be between the
bishops of London and the city of York this distinction — that he is
to take precedence who hath been ordained before the other. And
let thy fraternity have in subjection the bishops whom thou shalt
have ordained, or whom the bishop of York shall have ordained,
likewise the priests of the whole of Britain." Thus far Gregory.
Augustine, the archbishop, ordained Mellitus 5 bishop of the city
of London;. Justus, of the city of Rochester; and Laurence in
stead of himself, lest at his death the condition of a church so rude
should, when left without a pastor even for an hour, begin to totter ;
following in this the example of St. Peter, who appointed Clement
to succeed him. He died after he had occupied the see for sixteen
years, and was buried near the church of St. Peter and St. Paul,
which had not yet been either finished or dedicated. But as soon
as it was dedicated by Laurence, his successor, he was removed,
with fitting respect, to its north portico,6 where the bodies of the
archbishops down to Theodore have been deposited.
i H. E. § 58. 2 Id< § 72. a Ide
4 "Whereas the new church of the English." Id.
5 Id. § 95. « See Id. § 101, note 5.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 317
LAURENCE, who had been sent l by St. Gregory, along with St.
Augustine, to convert the Angli, was consecrated by St. Augustine
in his lifetime ; and St. Gregory sent him the pallium, as he had
also done to his predecessor Augustine, and to his successor Mel-
litus likewise, as is set forth in the Chronicles. Bat this I affirm
to be utterly impossible ; for both Laurence and Mellitus sate for
five years, and Augustine for sixteen years ; and it is undeniable
that Gregory sate only for thirteen years, six months, and ten days.
This Laurence advised Mellitus and Justus, whom Edbald, son of
Ethelbert, had ejected from their bishoprics, to retire to Gaul; and
when he was intending to pursue them, Peter the apostle flogged
him with a scourge. Laurence, after occupying his see for five
years, died in the time of the aforesaid king Edbald.
MELLITUS 2 was the first bishop of London. He was afflicted
with the gout, and died when he had sate for five years and sixteen
days. His festival is on the eighth of the kalends of May [24th
April].
JusTus3 was the first bishop of Rochester. To him pope Boni
face wrote in these words : " By the authority of St. Peter, we
command that henceforth for ever the metropolitan see of the
whole of Britain be in the city of Canterbury; and that all the pro
vinces of the realm of the Angli be under the jurisdiction of the
aforesaid see of the metropolitan church." The same Boniface
sent the pallium to the same [Justus] . He died after he had held
the see for three years. His festival is on the fourth of the ides of
November [10th Nov.]
HONORIUS 4 was consecrated by Paulinus, archbishop of York, in
the city of Lincoln, in the church which is now called St. Paul's,
but in the time of the Angli was called St. Paulinus. To him
pope Honorius the first wrote in the following terms : " When
ever the archbishop of Canterbury or of York departs this life, the
survivor is to have the power of ordaining the other." The same
pope also wrote to this archbishop, sending him the pallium, in
these words : " To thy jurisdiction I command that all the churches
and districts of England be subject ; and that in the city of Can
terbury the metropolitan see and archiepiscopal dignity, and the
head of all the churches of the Angli, be for ever henceforth
established." He died after holding the see for twenty-six years
and fifty-five days. After his decease,5 the see of the archbishopric
was vacant for a year and six months. His festival is on the day
before the kalends of October [30th Sept.]
DEUSDEDIT 6 was consecrated by Itamar, bishop of Rochester.
This ought to have been done by the archbishop of York; but
Paulinus having been expelled by hostile violence, and having
returned into Kent, no one had succeeded to his archiepiscopal
rights. Pope Honorius sent him the pallium. He died after he
had held the see for ten years ; others say nine years, four months,7
and two days. After his decease, the see was vacant for three
1 Id. § 97, 104. 2 Id. § 106. 3 Id. § 108.
4 Id. § 140. 5 Id. § 209. c Id.
7 Beda says, seven months.
318 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
years. His festival is on the day before the ides of July [14th
July].
THEODORE/ a native of Tarsus, in Cilicia, skilled in secular,
ecclesiastical, and philosophical learning, and well acquainted with
the Greek and Latin languages, was consecrated at Rome, by pope
Vitalian, who sent him the pallium, and wrote to him in these
terms : " We commend to thy most learned sanctity all the
churches that are in the island of Britain." And so he came into
Kent. He was the first of the archbishops of Canterbury to whom
every church in England consented to be in subjection. He2
accordingly made a general inspection, and ordained bishops in
suitable places; and wherever he found anything amiss, he rectified
it with their assistance. This Theodore convened a synod in
England, in which he made many canons that conduced to the
benefit of the church. He also wrote a Provincial book, in which he
discriminated, with rare and wary judgment, the various species of
sins. He assembled a council of bishops in a place called Heorford,3
at which Wilfrid, bishop of Northumberland, appeared by his own
representatives, and other English bishops likewise, to treat con
cerning the time of Easter, and other matters of importance to the
church. He divided the province of the Mercians into five dioceses
— Worcester, Lichfield, Leogoria, and Dorchester, ordaining a
bishop for each ; as Beda mentions, in book fourth, chapter seven
teenth. This Theodore also assembled a council of bishops and
several doctors at a place called Hethfield,4 to satisfy himself
touching the religious faith of each of them. There were present
at this council, Egfrid, king of Northumberland; Aedelred, king of
the Mercians; Aldulph, or Wulfus, king of the East Angli ; Clo-
tarius, king of Kent. He died after he had occupied the see for
twenty-two years, and the see was vacant after his death for one
year. The feast of the translation of the forementioned arch
bishops, Augustine, Laurence, Mellitus, Justus, Honorius, Deus-
dedit, and Theodore, and of St. Adrian, abbot, and of St. Mildred,
is on the ides of September [13th Sept.]
BRICTWALD,S previously a monk of Glastonbury and an abbot of
Reculver, was consecrated by Bregwin, otherwise Godwin, metro
politan of Wales. Vitalian sent him the pallium; and pope Sergius,
who succeeded him, wrote to all the bishops of Britain : " We give
you notice, that our most dearly-beloved Brictwald, archbishop of
the province of Canterbury, appointed, according to ancient custom,
primate of all Britain, is there entrusted with the sacred use of the
pallium and venerable dalmatic ; and we command you to pay
implicit obedience to the same archbishop, acting as primate." He
died after he had filled the see for twenty-seven years 6 (some say,
nearly twenty-eight) and six months. And observe, that up to this
time the archbishops of Canterbury were sent from Rome : thence
forward they were Englishmen.
TADWIN, who had been a presbyter at Brendene,7 in the pro-
1 Id. § 254. 2 Id. § 256. * Id. § 267.
1 Id. § 301. 5 Id. § 374. 6 Read, thirty-seven and thirty-eight.
7 Brendon, in Worcestershire.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 319
vince of the Mercians, was consecrated by Hingwald, bishop of
London, and Daniel of Winchester, and Ardulf of Rochester, and
Aldewyn of Lichfield. Pope Gregory sent him the pallium, and
wrote to him in these words :
"We command every one in England to obey thee, and to
regard thee as primate of the whole island."
He died when he had occupied the see for three years. In his
time Beda died.
NOTELM/ presbyter of London, was consecrated at Rome by
pope Gregory the second,2 who also sent him the pallium. He,
when Wilfred returned home in peace, appointed Edrit to be
bishop of the South Saxons, that is to say of Chester [Chi-
chester] .
[CUTHBERT] .... He died when he had sate for seventeen
years. He was the first that was buried in his church, and all his
successors [were so buried] except Jambert.
BREGWIN. He received the pallium from pope Paul. He died
three years after.
JAMBERT, at first abbot of St. Augustine at Canterbury, was
consecrated at Rome by pope Paul, from whom he likewise received
the pallium. In his time Offa, king of the Mercians, quarrelled
with the people of Canterbury, out of a desire to secure the arch
bishopric of Canterbury for the kingdom of the Mercians ; and
with this view he wrote a letter to Adrian to urge him to give the
pall to Aldulph of Lichfield, and to place six bishops under his
iurisdiction. And this annoyance lasted all the time of Jambert.
He [died] after he had filled the see for twenty-seven, others say
twenty-eight, years.
ADELARD, at first bishop of Winchester, received the pall from
pope Adrian. He prevailed upon pope Leo the third, Adrian's suc
cessor, to permit the church of Canterbury to enjoy its accustomed
privilege, and to have jurisdiction over those bishops whom Offa,
king of the Mercians, wished to subject to the archbishop of Lich
field ; and pope Leo sent him an answer in the following terms :
" We grant to thee, Adelard, and to thy successors, the un
questionable right of causing all the churches of England to
acknowledge, as they have done from ancient times, the jurisdiction
of thy metropolitan see. And if any shall presume to disobey
this our rightful command, we ordain, by apostolical authority,
that if he be a bishop or an archbishop, he be deprived of the
episcopal order ; and that if he be a presbyter, or a deacon, or any
other member of the sacred function, he be deposed from his
order ; but if he be a layman, whether king, or prince, or any
other person, high or low, let him consider himself as excom
municated."
Adelard died after occupying the see for thirteen years.
WULFRED was consecrated at Rome by pope Leo the third; and he
died after he had sat for thirty-eight, some say twenty-eight, years.3
1 By the carelessness of the scribe, the histories of Nothelm and Cuthbert were
intermingled, but they are here disentangled.
2 The third. 3 A.D. 804—829.
320 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
FEOLOGILD, that is, SUNDRED, received the pallium from pope
John, and he died after occupying the see for three years.1 The
see was vacant for one year.
CENOD, or CHELNOTH, received the pall from Gregory the sixth,
and was consecrated by him at Rome. He died after he had sat
for forty -one years.
ETHELRED was consecrated at Rome by pope Adrian the second ;
and he died when he had sat for eighteen years. After his decease
the see was vacant for two years.
PLEIMUND was consecrated at Rome by pope Formosus. He con
secrated Edward, son of Alured, king of England. This Pleymund
presided at a council which king Edward had assembled, in which
it was decreed that every district of the Gewiseans, that is of the
West Saxons, which had been deprived of a bishop for seven years,
should be again restored ; and that where there had formerly been
two, there should thenceforth be five. When the council was
dismissed, the archbishop proceeded to Rome, carrying with him
presents to testify his respect, and by his marked humility made
friends with the pope ; and he recited the king's decrees, which
gratified the pope still more. On his return to his own country, he
ordained for the churches, in one day, in the city of Canterbury,
seven bishops (as is mentioned above).2 The pope confirmed all
this, by damning for ever any one that should annul this edict.
The same pope, Formosus, wrote to the bishops of England,
respecting the privileges of the church of Canterbury, to this
effect :
"It is certain, as we find by the rescripts of pope St. Gregory
and his successors, that the chief episcopal see of the metropolitan
is in the city of Canterbury. And as pope Gregory made all the
bishops of the Angles subject to Augustine the first bishop of
your nation, so we confirm the same dignity to Pleymund, arch
bishop of Canterbury, and his lawful successors/'
Pleymund died after he had sat for thirty-four years.
ATHELM, first a monk of Glastonbury, and afterwards first
bishop of Wells, received the pall from John. He consecrated
Athelstan, king of England. He died when he had sat for ten
years.
WULFELM, previously bishop of Wells, received the pallium from
pope John. He died after holding the see for ten years.
ODO, first bishop of Salisbury, that is, of Malmesbury, received
the pall from pope Agapetus. Odo made a stout resistance
from the very first, because he had not been a monk ; for up to
that time he had never known any one to be made an archbishop,
unless he had worn the habit of a monk. But when all the bishops
complied with the wishes of king Athelstan, he at last overcame
his scruples, and, having crossed the sea, assumed the monastic
attire ; and, returning to England, was held in high estimation in
the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury by Athelstan, Edmund, and
Edred. And Edmund, Athelstan's brother, and Edred were, in like
manner, consecrated kings by him on two subsequent occasions.
1 Read months. 2 A reference to an earlier portion of Diceto's history.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 321
This Odq took a journey into Northumberland, and removed the
relics of bishop Wilfred from the church of Ripon to Canterbury.
This Odo is called the Holy. He also consecrated asking, Edwin,
the son of Edmund. Odo was distinguished for his talents, and
commendable for his piety. He died after he had sat for twenty-
four years.
Guso,1 previously bishop of Winchester, who, while on his way
to Rome to obtain the pall, was frozen to death in the Alps.
BRICTELM, previously bishop of Wells, was elected archbishop ;
but, by common consent, he was sent back to his own diocese, as
he seemed to be good for nothing. Dunstan was then chosen.
DUNSTAN, at that time abbot of Glastonbury, when he was
trying to reclaim king Edwin, was by that king proscribed, and
forced to cross the sea. He was recalled from exile, however, by
king Edgar, [Edwin's] successor, and was made bishop of the
church of Worcester. But king Edgar committed to his super
intendence the church of London, which had been deprived of its
own pastor. And so Dunstan had the care of the church of London,
although he had not the title. At last he was made archbishop of
Canterbury, as we have said. He also consecrated the same Edgar
as king ; and Edward the Martyr, his son ; and Egelred, Edgar's
son by another wife. At Dunstan's suggestion king Edgar enriched
the church of Glastonbury with numerous and valuable possessions,
and drove the clerks out of the most of the churches of England,
and placed monks in their stead.
Pope John the sixteenth wrote to Dunstan in these terms : —
" We confirm thy primacy, in which it is thy duty to discharge the
office of the apostolic see, after the manner of thy predecessors, as
fully as St. Augustine, and his successors, archbishops of the church
of Canterbury, are known to have held it." [See several remark
able things respecting him above, where 2 we treat of the kings] .
This Dunstan was a nephew of Athelm, archbishop of Canter
bury, of whom mention is made above. St. Dunstan died after
he had sat for twenty -seven years.
ETHELGAR, formerly a monk of Glastonbury, and afterwards
first abbot of the New Monastery at Winchester, and at length
bishop of Selsey, that is, Chichester, received the pall from John.
He occupied the see for only fifteen months.
SIRIC, previously bishop of Wilton, that is, Salisbury, received
fhe pall from pope John. He had been originally a monk
of Glastonbury, and, on being made archbishop, he gave seven
palls to the place of his education, with which the whole of the old
church is decorated on his anniversary. He died after he had sat
for five years. He drove the clerks out of Canterbury, and put
monks in their room.
ALURIC received the pall from pope John. He had previously
been bishop of Wilton, that is, Salisbury. He died after he had
sat for eleven years.
ELPHEGE was previously prior of Glastonbury, next first abbot
1 A corrnpt reading for Alslne,
2 A reference to one of the works already cited.
VOL. IV. Y
322 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
of Bath, and then bishop of Winchester. He received the pall
from pope John. He was murdered by the Danes in the seventh
year of his archiepiscopate, after he had sat for six years and seven
months. His body was carried the day after to London, where it
was buried in the church of St. Paul by the bishops of London
and Lincoln. But it was afterwards brought back to Canterbury
in the time of king Cnut.
LIVING, called also ETHELSTAN, was previously bishop of Wells.
He received the pall from pope Benedict the ninth. He conse
crated Edmund Ironside, and afterwards Cnut, king of Denmark.
He died when he had sat for seven years.
ETHELNOD, otherwise EGELNOTH, son of earl Egelmar, dean of
the church called Christchurch, in Hampshire, and afterwards, as
is said, bishop of Lincoln. He was called " Ethelnod the Good."
He went to Rome, where pope Benedict the ninth gave him a
distinguished reception, and presented him with the pall. He had
been originally a monk of Glastonbury. At his suggestion king
Cnut sent large sums of money to the churches beyond sea, among
which he very richly endowed Chartres. He also consecrated
Harald, son of Cnut, and likewise Hardicnut, king of England.
He died on the fourth of the kalends of November [29th Oct.],
when he had sat for eighteen years. On the day of his death
Ethelric, bishop of Sussex, also died, for he used to pray, that he
might not long survive the departure of his father Ethelnod.
EDSY, or ELSY, king Harald's chaplain, bishop of Winchester,
received the pall [from pope Alexander *] . He consecrated St.
Edward, son of Egelred, king of England. The same Edsy, on
being seized in the following year with a painful disorder, appointed
Si ward, abbot of Abingdon, his successor ; having previously com
municated his design to the king and earl Godwin, lest he should
be deemed unfit, either for love or money, to aspire to so high a
dignity. But Siward did not obtain it. He died after he had sat
for eleven years.
ROBERT, who had been previously bishop of London. He was
first a monk and abbot of Jumieges, and afterwards bishop of
London. He was a Norman by birth. He received the pall
from Alexander. The modern English find fault with him, and
give out that he betrayed Godwin and his children, and sowed
discord between the king and the nobles, and that he purchased the
archbishopric : wherefore both Robert himself and the rest of the
Normans were expelled from England. He went, however, to
Rome for the purpose of appealing to the apostolic see respecting
his cause : but, on his way home, he died at Jumieges, and was
buried there in the church of the Holy Virgin, which he had
himself erected in costly style. He sate for only two years.
STIGANB, Harald's chaplain, was originally bishop of the East
Angles — from which office he was deposed — and next bishop of
the South Saxons, that is, of Chichester, and at length bishop
of Winchester. WThile Robert was yet alive, and an exile from
England, he seized upon the archbishopric by imposing upon the
1 Supplied from the catalogue appended to this history.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 323
simplicity of king Edward. For at first he had been bishop of the
South Saxons ; but, in the hope of obtaining a more elevated seat,
he deserted that see, and, removing to that of Winchester, held it
along with the archbishopric. Wherefore he would never have been
considered worthy of receiving the pall from the apostolic see, had
not Benedict the tenth, an invader of the apostolate, sent it to him,
doubtless either bribed by money to grant it, or because bad men
like to gratify those that resemble them. For this reason he was
degraded at Rome by the cardinals in the time of William the first,
and, although he had been put in irons for life, he could not controul
his insatiable avarice even while he lay upon his death-bed ; for
no sooner was the life out of his body than a key was found
secreted upon his person, which, on being applied to the lock of
a coffer attached to his bed, revealed incalculable treasures. Upon
this a great Council was held at Winchester, in Easter-week, in the
year of our Lord one thousand and seventy, at the command and in
the presence of king William, and with the consent of pope Alexander
the second, at which the aforesaid Stigand was degraded for three
reasons : — First, because he had unlawfully kept possession of the
bishopric of Winchester along with the archbishopric ; and because
while archbishop Robert was still living he had not only seized
upon the archbishopric, but in the celebration of mass made use
of his pall, which was left at Canterbury while he was illegally
expelled from England ; and because he had afterwards accepted
the pall from Benedict the tenth, whom the Church of Rome had ex
communicated for taking possession of the apostolic see by bribery.
At this council Wulstan, bishop of Worcester, attended with a com
plaint touching the property of his church, which had been detained
by the archbishop of York. As for Stigand, he was cast into
prison by the same king, and there died. It is said in the life, or
legend,1 of saint Edward the king, that his belly burst, and that all
his bowels gushed out. He was the first that discharged the
archiepiscopal functions in the clerical habit. He died after he had
sat for seventeen years ; and the see was vacant after his deposition
for two years.
LANFRANC, a Lombard by birth, a man of profound and universal
learning, deeply skilled in the knowledge of all the liberal arts, and
of sacred and secular literature, was equally endowed also with the
greatest wisdom in counsel and in the management of worldly
affairs. Originally a monk of Bee, and abbot of Caen, he was
consecrated at Canterbury, on the feast of St. John the Baptist
[29th Aug.], by Giso, bishop of Wells, and Walter, bishop of Here
ford. He went to Rome for the pall, and took with him, as com
panions of his journey, Thomas, archbishop of York, (whom he had
consecrated at Canterbury, after receiving from him a canonical pro
fession of his subjection to himself,) and Remigius, bishop of Lincoln.
On his arrival he was presented to pope Alexander the second.
On his entrance the pope rose to him, to stop him, courteously
addressed him, and then added, " We have shown thee a mark of
respect which we owe, not to thy archbishopric, but to a master
1 Ailredus Rievallensis de Vita S. Edwardi, col. 400. ap. Decem Scriptores.
Y 2
324 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
to whose labours we are indebted for the knowledge we possess. It
is fit that thou shouldest receive what is thy due, out of reverence
for St. Peter," He then sat down ; arid Lanfranc went forward,
and cast himself down at his feet ; but he instantly raised him up,
and kissed him. Having at length returned with his companions
to England, he was confirmed in the primacy of the whole realm.
In his time religion was extraordinarily diffused throughout the land
by the erection of new monasteries ; and to the construction of
such edifices he himself showed the way by building Christchurch
at Canterbury, with all the offices connected with it, that are
within the wall of the court, together with that wall itself.
Afterwards a general council was held in the year of our Lord
one thousand and seventy-two, in the eleventh year of the pontificate
of Alexander, and in the seventh year of the reign of William ; and
here was pleaded the cause touching the primacy of Canterbury over
that of York. It was shown and made apparent by the authority of
various records, that the church of York is bound to submit to that of
Canterbury, and to comply in all things with the regulations of its
archbishop, as the primate of all England, in such matters as pertain
to the Christian religion. But the archbishop of Canterbury con
sented that the archbishop of York and his successors should
retain all that is beyond the river H umber, together with the sub
jection of the bishop of Durham. So that, if the archbishop
of Canterbury should think proper to convene a council, whenever
he thinks fit, the archbishop of York is to make his appearance,
at his direction, together with all that are subject to him, and to be
obedient to his canonical decrees. Lanfranc also showed that from
ancient practice he [Thomas] ought to make his profession to the
archbishop of Canterbury upon oath ; but, out of regard for the
king, he dispensed with an oath from Thomas, and received only his
written profession; but, in this instance, without prejudice to his
successors. But if the archbishop of Canterbury should happen to
die, then the archbishop of York is to come, and, together with the
rest of the bishops, is to consecrate him who shall be elected. But
if the archbishop of York shall happen to die, he who is to succeed
him is to be elected, and, having accepted the archbishopric, as
a gift from the king, must go to the archbishop of Canterbury, and
receive ordination from him. To this ordinance king William,
and Hubert the legate of our lord the pope, and all that were
present gave their consent. This affair was first discussed at Win
chester, at Easter, in the chapel royal in the castle, but was after
wards definitively settled at Windsor, in the presence of the king,
and the bishops, and the abbots, who had been assembled at the
court, at the feast of Pentecost.
This Lanfranc consecrated William Rufus, son of William the
first, as king. Among the other benefits conferred by him, he
restored twenty-five manors to the church of Canterbury, and
repaired the church of Rochester, and ordained Hernost, a monk
of Bee, bishop of it. He likewise restored the abbey of St. Alban's
to its pristine condition, and placed in it abbot Paul, who estab
lished there the order of Bee as it remains to this day. He died on
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 325
the ninth of the kalends of June [24th May], after he had sat for
nineteen years. The see was vacant for four years after his decease,
in consequence of the oppression which the church of England
suffered at the hands of king William Rufus.
ANSELM, originally abbot of Bee, obtained the archbishopric in the
fourth year of the oppression of the church of England, in the year of
our Lord one thousand and ninety-three, on the first Sunday of Lent,
being the day before the nones of March [6th March] . He was a
Lombard by birth, a native of the city of Aosta. His father's name
was Gundulph, his mother's, Hermenberga. After receiving the
rudiments of learning in his childhood, he crossed the Alps, and
studied the liberal arts in Gaul for three years, with great assiduity.
Passing into Normandy, he attached himself to [Lanfranc] the prior
of Bee, who, as has been already mentioned, at that time conducted
the public schools, by order of abbot Herlewin ; and by his advice he
assumed the monastic habit in the twenty- seventh year of his age.
But Lanfranc, after having been appointed to superintend the
monastery of Caen, and having been made abbot of that place,
Anselm was made prior of Bee, within three years of the time when
he assumed the habit. Afterwards, on the death of abbot Herlewin,
he was himself consecrated abbot of Bee. Finally, William the
second, king of England, four years after the death of Lanfranc, being
brought very near to his end, his attendants persuaded him to turn
his thoughts to the church of Canterbury, now for a long time
widowed. Accordingly, he, having taken advice with them touching
that matter, in a council of nobles, caused abbot Anselm to be
summoned with all speed from Normandy, and to be raised to the
archbishopric. And so, against his will, but with the consenting
voices of the suffragans, he was consecrated archbishop of Canter
bury, on the fourth of the nones of December [4th Dec.], in the
sixtieth year of his age, by Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, acting
for Maurice, bishop of London. But the king, getting well again
afterwards, was exasperated against him by the instigation of wicked
men, because the archbishop would not pillage his men to give the
king a thousand pounds by way of acknowledgment for his munifi
cence, — in giving his assent to his consecration. Wherefore, he
chose rather to incur the king's resentment, than to undergo the
risk of ruining his soul for ever, and the imprecations of many in
the church of God. But, in order to the effectual performance of
his functions, he asked the king's leave to go to pope Urban for the
pall. But the king fired at the mention of Urban's name, and
declared that he did not look upon him as a pope ; nor was it his
practice to permit any one to name who should be pope in his realm
without his approbation. For, at this time, there was a schism in
the Roman church ; Wibert, archbishop of Ravenna, having been
thrust in by the violence of the emperor Henry. Hence a grievous
dissension arose between the king and the clergy; insomuch that
all the bishops, except Gundulf of Rochester, holding aloof from
the king, refused him subjection and obedience. It was accord
ingly made known to the archbishop, by means of messengers, that
there could be no safetv either for himself or his friends, unless he
326 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
protested openly that he would have nothing to do with pope
Urban's mandate. But a few days afterwards, Walter, bishop of
Albano, fetching the pall to the archbishop, on the fourth of the
ides of June [10th June], made peace between pope Urban and the
king. The king received Anselm into favour, at least apparently.
But, a little while after, the king, returning victorious from Wales,
breaking out into fresh rage, was incensed against him on account
of some inefficient and worthless soldiers, whom some spiteful
persons had alleged that Anselm had furnished for the expedition.
Wherefore Anselm, believing that such accusations might arise at
any time, requested permission from the king, who was then at
Windsor, to go to Rome to consult the see of St. Peter touching
those matters that he was revolving in his mind ; but the king
would not give him leave. And so, quitting the court, he came to
Canterbury, making no secret of the tidings he brought back. As
archbishop Anselm was going on board at Dover, William de
Warwast, a very intimate companion of the king, made a strict
examination of all his luggage, with the hope of getting money ; but
finding nothing that he expected, he suffered him and his friends to
depart. But the archbishop neither uttered a word of bitterness,
nor showed him any mark of disrespect. When Anselm had crossed
the sea, the king immediately gave orders that all that belonged to
him from the time he entered upon the archbishopric of Canter
bury should be transferred to his own possession, and that all the
decrees that had been made by him since he became archbishop
should be annulled.
On his arrival at Rome he was received by pope Urban with the
greatest distinction : and he afterwards went with the pope to the
council of Bari, which the same pope was to hold there on the
kalends of October [1st Oct.] ; and there Anselm confuted the
error of the Greeks, who denied that the Holy Spirit proceeded
from the Father and the Son. Afterwards another council was
held by the same pope at Rome, at which he was present, in the
third week of Easter, and at which the pope excommunicated all
laymen that gave investitures of churches, and those who accepted
them from such, and in like manner such as, after they had ob
tained the dignity, presumed to bestow the gift of consecration.
When the council broke up the archbishop returned to Lyons in the
third year of his banishment. King William died, and was suc
ceeded by his brother Henry, who immediately recalled the arch
bishop, and granted him permission to dispose freely of his property.
But when they began to deliberate in council respecting the churches
that had become vacant since the beginning of his exile, the nobles
of the realm contended that the investiture of churches appertained
to the king. The archbishop held the contrary ; and he cited the
statutes of the foresaid council. At this the king was incensed,
and for two years and a half gave him a great deal of trouble. At
last, in order to soften the king's resentment a little, he asked and
obtained his consent that he should go to Rome along with the
king's envoys, and transact with them those affairs of the realm that
would not bear hard upon the liberty of the church. To Rome,
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 327
then, he went, taking with him William, bishop elect of Winchester,
and the deposed abbots Richard of Ely and Aldwin of Ramsey.
On their arrival at Rome they find that Urban has been succeeded
by Paschal ; who, when he had heard of their arrival, and had
taken knowledge of their cause, refused to concede to king Henry
either the investiture of churches, or anything else that would be
displeasing to God. It happened, too, that Anselm said many
things against the king, in which he expected that Richard would
have supported him. But as Richard was acting for the king, he
repelled all the archbishop's charges. And as the report of this
affair reached England before him, it recovered the king's favour
for him in the fullest measure. When he was on his way back,
having failed in the object of his journey, and was making a short stay
at Lyons, the foresaid William de Warwast, one of the envoys of our
lord [the king], on the part of his master forbade the archbishop to
return to England, unless he were willing to annul the statutes of
the aforesaid Council, and to observe in every respect the custom
that had been introduced of old. He stayed, therefore, at Lyons ;
and the king soon afterwards took the archbishopric into his own
hands. After his property had been confiscated a second time a
year and a half passed away : then, at the king's request, he came
into Normandy. And when they met together at Bee, the king
declared, in the audience of persons of distinction, that he would
thenceforth claim no right, either for himself or his heirs, in the
investiture of churches ; nor would he demand any other right in
elections than that of giving his bare assent, as the decision of the
canons prescribes. Matters having been in this way accommo
dated, Anselm returned to England. But before the king and the
archbishop had been reconciled, pope Paschal wrote a railing letter
[to Gerard1 archbishop of York] for having sided with the king
against archbishop Anselm ; and another letter commanding him
to make his profession to the same, as his predecessors had done to
the predecessors [of the province of Canterbury] . And archbishop
Anselm, together with all the bishops of England, held a council
in London in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and
two, and there degraded several abbots, as well Englishmen as Franks,
who had conducted themselves improperly, namely, the abbots of
Pershore, Tavistock, Ramsey, Peterborough, Cerne, and Middleton.
He also forbade presbyters to marry. And because king Henry
had, on the day of his consecration, given the abbey of St. Edmund
to the son of Hugh, earl of Chester, a monk of St. Evroul, in spite
of the monks of St. Edmund ; and because the said Robert had
presumed to accept that abbey, without being elected, contrary to
the privileges of the monastery, he was degraded in the said council
by the said Anselm : and Robert, prior of the monastery, a man of
distinguished piety, obtained the abbey ; but he died four years
afterwards, and was succeeded by Alebold, prior of St. Nicasius
of Mellent, who survived for more than four years, who was suc
ceeded by a nephew of Anselm, who died twenty-six years after
wards, in the time of king Stephen, on the day before the kalends
1 An addition to the text of the MS. from another of Diceto's works.
328 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
of August [31st July]. At a great council held in London the
king granted and decreed that thenceforward no one should ever
receive investiture in England of an abbacy or bishopric by pastoral
staffer ring, either through the king or through the hand of a lay
man : and, on the other hand, Anselni conceded, that no one that
was elected to the prelacy should be deprived of consecration to the
dignity conferred upon him out of consideration of the homage
which he was to do to the king. Archbishop Gerard also pro
mised, at the same time, for himself and his successors, that he
would yield that subjection and obedience to him and his successors,
which the bishop of Hereford had promised him at his conse
cration.
Archbishop Anselm died in the year of our Lord one thousand
one hundred and nine, after he had sat for sixteen years. The see
of the archbishopric was vacant after his death for five years.
RALPH, previously bishop of Rochester, was elected at Windsor
on the sixth of the kalends of May [26th April] , and on the fifth
of the kalends of July [27th June] he received the pall from
Anselm, legate of our lord the pope : and on the same day he
consecrated Theolph bishop of Worcester at Canterbury. He died
after he had sat for eight years and six months ; and the see was
vacant after his decease for four months. This Ralph consecrated
Adela as queen of England, at Windsor.
WILLIAM DE TuRBiNE1, prior of St. Ositha of Chich, was elected
at Gloucester on the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin,
[2d Feb.], and was consecrated at Canterbury by William, bishop
of Winchester, (acting for the bishop of London, because Richard,
bishop of London, was afflicted with paralysis,) on the 14th of the
kalends of March [16th Feb.]. Archbishop William went then to
Rome to receive the pall, taking with him Thurstan, archbishop of
York, and Bernard of St. David's, who received the pall from pope
Calixtus. On his return to England he consecrated two bishops,
those of Lincoln and Bath ; and he gave to his archdeacon the
bishopric of Rochester. This William convened a council at
Westminster, at which Thurstan, archbishop of York, by letter
and messengers, sufficiently accounted for his inability to be pre
sent. He dedicated the church of the Holy Trinity at Canterbury
in the presence of king Henry. This William consecrated Stephen,
the nephew of king Henry, as king, although he had been the first
to promise Matilda, daughter of the aforesaid king Henry, that her
son Henry the second should be crowned king after Henry the first.
We have treated of this above. Archbishop William died after
he had sat for thirteen years and nine months. The see was vacant
after his death for two years, one month, and thirteen days.
THEOBALD, abbot of Bee, a man of learning and gentle birth, was
elected by the bishops, and was consecrated byAlberic, bishop of Ostia
and legate of the apostolic see ; and, going to Rome, he received
the pall from pope Innocent the second at a council held at Rome.
But when, subsequently, he attended without king Stephen's leave
1 Read "de Curboil." The surname "de Turbine" belonged to William's
predecessor, iialph.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 329
a council held by pope Eugenius at Reims, he was stripped of all
his property. And yet, afterwards, through his mediation, king
Stephen and Henry, duke of Normandy, who afterwards became
king of England, were reconciled, after being bitter enemies to each
other. He died, after he had sat for twenty-two years and four
months, in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and
sixty-one, and the see was vacant for one year and sixteen days.
He also consecrated Henry, son of the empress Matilda, as king of
England.
THOMAS, the king's chancellor, archdeacon of Canterbury, provost
of Beverley, canon of several churches in England, was unani
mously elected, on the Wednesday before Whitsunday, by all the
clergy of the province assembled in London, at Westminster, in
the presence of Henry, the king's son, and the justices of the realm.
And on Whitsunday he was ordained priest in the church of Can
terbury by Henry, bishop of Winchester, in the room of the church
of London, then vacant, [bishop] Richard the second being then
dead. Pope Alexander the third sent him the pall by nuncios de
spatched to himself. He afterwards sent a messenger into Nor
mandy to the king, resigning the chancellorship, and delivering up
the seal ; which the king received with concern, because he had
been told that the archbishop of Mayence, under the king, in Ger
many, and of Cologne, under the emperor, in Italy, had claimed
the title of chancellor. But when the king returned to England
he went to meet him, and was received with a kiss, but not into
full favour, as by his altered looks he immediately made manifest
to all that were present. When pope Alexander was holding
a council at Tours, Thomas, with his suffragans, sat on his right
hand at the council. Roger, earl of Clare, having been summoned
by the archbishop on the eleventh of the kalends of August [22d
July] to do him homage for the castle of Tunbridge, and other
things to that castle pertaining, withstood him, telling him that the
whole of that property belonged rather to the king, in discharge
of military service, than to the archbishop. The archbishop be
stowed the vacant [church of Heyneford upon Laurence ; but
William, lord of the town, claiming the right of patronage in the
same church, ejected Laurence : whereupon the archbishop excom
municated him : and as he took this step without informing the
king, he incurred the sovereign's utmost displeasure. For the king
declared, according to the dignity of his crown, that no captain,
no soldier in the king's service, no servant of the king, no one, to
speak in common parlance, who held in capite of the king a castle,
town, or estate in land, should in anywise be excommunicated
without the king's privity ; lest, in case of his receiving no intima
tion of the fact, he should, unwittingly,have dealings with an excom
municated person, by inviting his tenant in capite to kiss him when
come to pay him his respects, or by receiving him when he came
to tender his advice. Wherefore the king despatched envoys to our
lord the pope, to request him to confirm the customs of the realm ;
but he did not succeed, owing to the archbishop's opposition.
In the year one thousand one hundred and sixty-four the king
330 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
convoked a council at Clarendon, on the eighth of the kalends of
February [25th Jan.], where he prevailed upon the prelates to
confirm the customs of the realm by the authority and written
declarations of the archbishops and bishops. This matter was
communicated to the pope by Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury,
who at the same time prayed that he might be absolved from the
obligation which he had incurred, and obtained his request. Wish
ing, too, as he gave out, to punish wrong-doers with due severity,
and that the dignity of the priestly order should be subjected to
the examination of a fitting tribunal, he decreed that clerks, taken
by the justiciaries in the commission of any public offence, should
be handed over to the bishop of the diocese, so that if he found
a clerk guilty, he should be exempt from the proceedings of the
justiciary, and protected from lay proceedings, otherwise he would
be tried twice over upon the same charge.1
This dispute was occasioned by Philip de Broc, canon of Bed
ford, who, on being brought before the court on a charge of
homicide, assailed the king's justiciary in abusive language ; and as
he was unable to deny this before the archbishop, he was deprived
of his prebend, and banished the kingdom for two years. Then
the archbishop, unknown to the king, took ship, intending to pro
ceed to Rome, and by so doing he incensed the king more than
ever. But the wind proved adverse, and he was cast upon the
English coast.
At length, in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred
and sixty-five, the archbishop was brought to trial touching a trans
action in which he had been concerned in chancery ; and he made
his appearance at Northampton on the third of the ides of
October [13th Oct.]. For those who were assembled had resolved
that he must render an account of everything, beginning from the
very first, although before his consecration he had been free and
exempt from all responsibility to the will and command of the
king. But when this could not be proved, he appealed against
the bishops, lest they should condemn him by an unjust sentence;
and they made a counter appeal. But the peers of the realm
contrived to obtain a sentence against him, although he had neither
pleaded guilty, nor was convicted, but stood upon his own privi
lege and that of the Church. And thus the archbishop, placed
in a strait, made the butt of many insulting and reviling taunts,
and deprived of the advice of the bishops, raising aloft the cross
which he held in his hand, rushed out of the court. The next
night he left the town secretly, and then, shunning the public eye
by day, and pursuing his journey by night, a few days after he
reached the port of Sandwich, whence he was carried in a frail
bark to Flanders. For our lord the king had, on his part, imme
diately despatched many bishops and earls to Sens, to our lord the
pope, but they were unable to give effect to his wishes or in
tentions. But after he had stopped for several days at Pontigny,
departing thence, he arrived suddenly at Vezelay. And on Ascen-
1 This passage is obscure, and probably corrupt in the original ; and the trans
lation is of doubtful accuracy.
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 331
sion-day, mounting the pulpit, he, with lighted candles, excom
municated the observers, maintainers, and propagators of the
aforesaid customs, namely, Richard de Lucy, Richard, archdeacon
of Poictiers, Jocelin de Bailliul, Alan de Neville, and many others.
They being absent, and not summoned, and undefended, as they
gave out, sent messengers to the archbishop, and appealed, and
entered the church. They were afterwards absolved by Godfrid,
bishop of St. Asaph, by order of the cardinals John of Naples
and William of Pavia. Alan was absolved by the bishop of
London, having previously made oath that on his way to Jerusalem
he would pay his respects to our lord the pope, and abide by his
commands. But the above-named cardinals, being sent a latere
by the pope, convened the king and the archbishop at Montmirail;
and though the archbishop was aware that they were rather dis
posed to take the king's part, he nevertheless consented that the
matter should be brought forward in a judicial form before them as
they sat in public ; that, according to ecclesiastical order, restitution
should first be made, as well to himself as to his friends. For, as
he had been robbed, he did not choose to submit to a trial ; and
there were no means of compelling him thereto. And as they
had neither the inclination nor the power to do this, they re
turned to court, without accomplishing what they had come for.
Meanwhile Louis, king of France, provided for his expenses for
four years.
In the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and sixty-
eight, archbishop Thomas excommunicated Alan de Neville, because
he had put William, the archbishop's chaplain, in irons. And in
the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and sixty-nine he
excommunicated Gilbert, bishop of London, and wrote to the
dean, and archdeacon, and chapter of London, not to hold any
communication with him. But afterwards two legates — Vivian
and Gratian — were sent to Baieux, to effect a reconciliation ; one of
whom strove, by all means, to uphold the cause of the archbishop,
the other the cause of the king. But as Gratian found no grace
with his majesty, so neither did Vivian vivify the memory of the
archbishop. And so they withdrew, without accomplishing their
purpose, from the court of the king, who was at Baieux. However,
at the instance of the king of France, the archbishop wrote to the
king of England, praying that he would receive him into favour.
And so the king of England and the archbishop would have been
united in some sort of harmony had not the king refused with an
oath to give the archbishop a kiss in sign of peace ; although he
was ready to offer, ready to yield, every other security, according
to the wish of that worthy person. But in the year of our Lord
one thousand one hundred and seventy, Roger, archbishop of
York, contrary to the express injunctions that he had received,
crowned Henry, the king's son. Afterwards a conference wa?
held at Montmirail between the king and the archbishop, at which
were present the king of France, and Bernard de Corilo, and the
prior of Mont-Dieu. After much had passed, they came to the
kiss : for the archbishop said, " I kiss you, in honour of God :"
332 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
the king recoiled from a kiss that betokened a condition. For the
king was perpetually finding fault with certain phrases in the talk
of the archbishop, whose conscience was pure; for example, at
one time with the words " saving my order," at another, " saving
the honour of God," at another, " saving faith to God." But at
Ambazium [Amboise] both were brought to a clear understanding ;
and, through the pacific intervention of Rothrod, archbishop of
Rouen, the king and the archbishop were made friends on St.
Mary Magdalene's day [22d July]. And thus assured he returned to
England, and landed at Sandwich on the kalends of November
[1st Nov.], in the seventh year of his exile. The king wrote to his
son Henry, informing him that peace had been made, to his own
content, between himself and the archbishop, and desiring that he
and his friends should also make peace with him.
Now, when Roger, archbishop of York, and Gilbert of London,
and Jocelin of Salisbury, had arrived at Dover, and were waiting
for a fair wind to cross the sea, lo ! on the eve of St. Andrew the
Apostle [29th Nov.], there suddenly arrived a nuncio from our
lord the pope, bearing to each of these three a letter severally, in
which they are smitten with the rod of Interdict and Suspension !
But when the archbishop had sailed over, Reginald de Warren, and
Gervase de Cormell, sheriff of Kent, and Ralph de Brocs, and
many more armed men, hurried to the ship to lay violent hands
upon those that had just arrived. But John, dean of Salisbury,
who had been sent with the archbishop by the king's command,
advanced against them, forbidding them in the king's name to do
them any harm, because this would be for the king himself to
incur the mark of perdition. But when he arrived at the church
of Canterbury, and was received there with great respect by the
clergy and people, the functionaries of the new king came to him,
commanding him, in the king's name, to absolve them from sus
pension and excommunication. In answer to this he told them,
that if the bishops of London and Salisbury would swear, as in
the face of the church, that they would obey his orders, he would
absolve them, out of regard to the peace of the church, and out of
respect to the king. When this was referred to the bishops, they
replied that they could not take such an oath without the king's
permission. All this the archbishop immediately reported to the
supreme pontiff. But when the archbishop was on his way to
Woodstock, to pay his respects to the new king, he was respectfully
received by the Londoners, and while they were hospitably enter
taining him at Southwark, messengers came to him from the new
king, on the fifteenth of the kalends of January [18th Dec.],
forbidding him, in the king's name, to proceed to visit him, and
commanding him to return to his own church. Accordingly he
returned to Canterbury. On Christmas-day he ascended the
pulpit to preach to the people ; and when the sermon was over,
and after the usual prayers to God for the pope, for the king, for
peace, and for the public weal, with lighted candles he solemnly
excommunicated Nigel de Satbeville, a violent oppressor of the
church of Herges, and the vicar of the same church ; also Robert
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 333
de Broks, who, for the purpose of affronting him, had cropped
the ears and docked the tail of one of the archbishop's horses that
was carrying provisions.
On the day after the festival of the Holy Innocents [29th Dec.],
about eventide, while he was sitting with his clergy in his chamber,
William de Tracy, Reginald Fitz Urse, Hugh de Morville, and
Richard Brito, who had come from Normandy, suddenly broke into
his chamber, commanding him, in the king's name, who was then
passing his time in Normandy, to restore the bishops that had been
suspended from their functions, and to absolve those that had been
excommunicated. He answered, that it was no part of an inferior
judge to annul the sentence of a superior; and that it was not
lawful for any one to set aside that which the apostolic see had
decreed : — but, nevertheless, if the bishops of London and Salisbury
would swear that they would obey his commands, he would absolve
them, out of regard for peace, and out of respect to our lord the king.
They then rushed out, on fire with rage. But the archbishop, with
his clergy, entered the church for the purpose of chanting vespers.
In the meanwhile these four, having put on military accoutrements,
were tracking the archbishop's footsteps, and pushing irreverently
into the church, began to cry out, " Where is the traitor ? Where is
the traitor? Where is the archbishop?" When he heard the arch
bishop's name, he went to meet them from the third step of the
presbytery, to which he had just ascended : " If ye seek the arch
bishop, lo, here I am I" In answer to their most bitter proposals
he said, " I am prepared to die ; for I prefer to maintain justice,
and the liberties of the church, to life itself. I only ask, that my
friends may not be exposed to punishment, as they have not been
imitators of my fault." On receiving from them his mortal wound
in that part of his body — the crown of his head — which the effusion
of holy oil had consecrated to the Lord, he bowed his head at the
blow, and died, after he had held the see for eight years, six
months, and twenty-eight days. The see was vacant for one year,
six months, and four days. In the year of our Lord one thousand
one hundred and seventy- one, about Easter, the miracles of St.
Thomas began to shine forth. By reason of this atrocious deed no
divine service was performed in the church of Canterbury for
a year, with the exception of nine days. But on the festival of St.
Thomas the Apostle [21st Dec.], in obedience to the command of
the supreme pontiff, the church was restored to its pristine con
dition by the suffragans of the same church. On the kalends of
September [1st Sept.], at a convocation of the clergy, at Windsor,
the subject of the church of Canterbury was taken into considera
tion; but something or other occurred to cause the matter to be
dropped for awhile. But afterwards, on the sixth of the nones of
March [2d March], they assembled at Lambeth, and unanimously
chose Roger, abbot of Bee. But when the abbot heard of his
election he absolutely declined it.
RICHARD, previously prior of Dover, was elected in the year of
our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy-one, by the
bishops of England, on the day before the nones of June [4th June],
334 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
at Westminster, in the chapel of St. Catherine ; the monks of Can
terbury wishing to have Odo, their prior. On the same day was
read a letter from the supreme pontiff respecting the canonization of
St. Thomas. But when he had arrived at Canterbury, on the sixth
of the ides of June [8th June], so as to be consecrated there on the
following day, a letter was despatched by the king's son, setting forth
that, without his knowledge and consent, no elections or consecra
tions could take place in the realm. And thus the consecrations of
the archbishop and others, namely, the bishops elect of Winchester,
Bath, Ely, and Lincoln, being put off, they all returned home ;
although they should not have done so without the permission of
king Henry his father. But in the year of our Lord one thousand
one hundred and seventy -three, Richard, the bishop elect of Can
terbury, taking with him for a companion the bishop elect of Win
chester, went to Rome. When he arrived there his election of the
sixth of the nones of April [2d April] was confirmed by the supreme
pontiff, and he was consecrated by him at Anagni.
He returned to England in the year of our Lord one thousand
one hundred and seventy-four, and reached London on the third of
the nones of September [3d Sept.] ; but he had only just arrived
when his church at Canterbury was burnt, on the nones of Septem
ber [5th Sept.] : nevertheless he consecrated the fore-mentioned
bishops elect at Canterbury, on the third of the nones of October
[5th Oct.] . He afterwards visited the church of Waltham, and
suspended Guy, the dean of that place. And then, going to
Gloucester, he frightened the clerks of St. Oswald, by rebuking
them sharply for their insubordination in saying that they were
exempt from his jurisdiction. At this, Roger, archbishop of York,
was so deeply offended, that he appealed against him by messengers
despatched to the apostolic see.
In the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy-
five, the archbishop of Canterbury convened a council in London,
at Westminster, on the fifteenth of the kalends of June [18th May],
at which was read a letter of king Henry the father, concerning the
reconciliation that had been effected between himself and his son.
But Roger of York was not present ; neither did he send any one
to apologize for his absence. And because the diocese of Canter
bury had only one archidiaconate from the time of the old fathers,
he instituted three archdeacons there.
In the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy-
eight, a controversy of long standing between the archbishop of
Canterbury and the abbot of St. Augustine was brought to a close
by pope Alexander on these terms:— that the archbishop of Can
terbury should bestow his blessing upon him and his successors in
the monastery of St. Augustine, without exacting obedience. But
in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy -
nine, the abbot of that place received from the same pope the
mitre, gloves, and ring, at Tusculum, in sign of emancipation
granted.
In the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and eighty-
four, the archbishop of Canterbury died, on the thirteenth of the
HISTORY OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY- 335
kalends of March [17th Feb.], at Hailing, a vill belonging to the
bishop of Rochester, after he had sat for nine years, and forty -five
weeks, and five days, from his enthronization, or consecration.
The see was vacant for one year.
BALDWIN, previously bishop of Worcester, and a monk of Chi-
chester, was elected in the year of our Lord one thousand one
hundred and eighty-four, with the assent of the suffragans, and
also of the monks of Canterbury, at Westminster, on the Third
Sunday in Advent [18th Dec.]. Pope Lucius sent him the pall.
He was enthroned in his see on the festival of St. Dunstan [19th
May], in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and eighty -
six. Moreover, he was received with a solemn procession at St.
Augustine's ; and the intimacy between the churches of Canter
bury, which had been dead for many a day, revived. Pope Urban
granted him a legatine office, that he might act in his stead, as
a legate sent by him through all the churches of the diocese of
Canterbury. Conrad, the son of the Marquis,1 wrote to him in
the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and eighty-nine,
to request that he would have compassion upon the land of Jeru
salem, by moving the people to an inclination to succour that
country, which was now delivered into the hands of the pagans.
He also consecrated Richard as king of England, in the year of our
Lord one thousand one hundred and ninety. The archbishop just
mentioned set out for the Holy Land at the time when king
Richard was commencing his journey thither, and he appointed
Richard, bishop of London, to act in his stead, with the common
advice of his suffragans. He was accompanied by Hubert, bishop
of Salisbury, and Ranulph de Glanvil, at one time justiciary of the
realm of England. Designing to proceed by a direct course to
Jerusalem, they passed Sicily on their left hand, and after many
perils landed at Cyprus, about the Feast of St. Michael [29th
Sept.]. But while he was there he breathed his last at Acre. He
appointed Hubert of Salisbury executor of his last will and testa
ment. And so he died, after he had sat for six years, and six
months, and seventeen days. And the see was vacant for three
years, all but sixteen days.
HUBERT WAUTER, previously bishop of Salisbury, was elected
with the assent of the suffragans and also of the monks of Canter
bury, at Westminster, on the thirtieth of May. Pope Celestine
sent him the pall by one named Episcopellus. He was solemnly
enthroned on the nones of November [5th Nov.]. This Hubert,
in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and ninety-five,
obtained from the same Celestine plenitude of power in the office of
legate, with the unanimous consent of all the cardinals, as well
in the bishopric of York as in his own ; — an honour which had not
been conferred upon his predecessor Baldwin. He also consecrated
John as king of England. He died in the year of our Lord one
thousand two hundred and five, after he had sat for twelve years ;
and the see was vacant for three years.
STEPHEN LANGTON a cardinal priest of the Roman church, with
1 That is, of Swabia, afterwards Frederic the First, emperor of Germany.
336 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
the title of St. Crisogonus, received the pall from pope Innocent the
third in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and eight.
In his time England was laid under an Interdict in the time of king
John. But when the monks of Canterbury, without the consent
of the suffragan bishops of the church of Canterbury, first chose
their prior ; and the same suffragans chose the bishop of Norwich,
John the second of that name, without the consent of the monks ;
the cause was at length referred to the apostolic see, and they then
unanimously chose the aforesaid Stephen, a cardinal, and native of
England. And, thereupon, the pope wrote to desire John king of
England to receive him, otherwise he would smite his land with an
Interdict. And this took place ; and there was in the same year
— one thousand two hundred and eight — a general Interdict in
England, which continued till the year one thousand two hundred
and thirteen, in which the archbishop came, with a legate, to Eng
land. The said pope likewise granted to the monks of Canterbury
that they might thenceforward choose an archbishop without the
suffragans of the same church. In the year of our Lord one
thousand two hundred and twenty-two he held a council at Oxford
in the time of king Henry7, son of John, where a certain deacon
was burnt to death ; and a certain countryman who had crucified
himself. He died after he had sat for twenty-one years.
RICHARD THE SECOND, called Master Grant, was consecrated
on the fourth of the ides of June [10th June], in the year of our
Lord one thousand two hundred and thirty-four. He died when
he had sat for two years, and the see was vacant for two years.
EDMUND OF ABINGDON was consecrated archbishop in the year
of our Lord one thousand two hundred and thirty-four. He was
a man of eminent sanctity. But in consequence of a sad dissen
sion that arose between him and king Henry respecting the rights
and liberties of the church of Canterbury, and his monks taking
opposite sides, after intolerable injuries, at a council of his suffra
gans held on this matter, he excommunicated those who had
unjustly intruded, and those who had jeopardized the rights and
liberties of the church of Canterbury generally ; and some, of
whose guilt he had legal evidence, specially. But being unwilling
to break with the king, and, still more, to yield to evildoers, he
crossed over to the continent. He died there after he had sat for
six years, and reposes at Pontigny, in the year of our Lord one
thousand two hundred and forty.
A NOTICE BY RALPH DE DICETO OF THE SUCCESSION
OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY,
And of the Popes from whom they received their Palls.
The Pall given
Who sat The See vacant
by Pope
To Archbishop
Years.
Months. Days.
Years. Months. Days.
Gregory
Augustin
16
— —
— — —
The same
Laurence
5
— —
— — —
The same
Mellitus
5
— —
— — —
Boniface
Justus
3
— —
— — —
Honorius
Honorius
26
— —
1 6 —
The same
Deusdedit
10
— —
3
Vitalian
Theodore
22
. — —
1
The same
Brictwald
37
6 14 *
— — —
Gregory
Tutwin
3
— —
— — —
The same
Nothelm
5
— __
— — —
The same
Cuthbert
17
— —
— — —
Paul
Bregwin
3
— —
— — —
The same
Lambert
32 2
— — .
— — —
Adrian
Athelard
13
— —
— — —
Leo
Wilfrid
38
.
I3
John
Feologild
—
3 —
Gregory
Ethelnoth
41
— —
— — —
Adrian
Ethelred
18
— —
— — —
Formosus
Pleimund
34 4
— , — ,
— —
John
Athelm 1
The same
Agapete
Wulfelm5 i.
Odo J
35
— —
— — —
John
Dunstan
27
— —
— — —
The same
Aethelgar
i
3
— — — .
John
Siric
5
— —
— — —
The same
Eluric 6
11
— —
—
The same
Aelfeg
6
— —
— — —
Benedict
Living
7
— —
— — —
The same
Aegelnod
18
— —
—
Alexander
Adsin
11
—
The same
Robert
2
—
Victor
Stigand
17
— —
2 — —
Alexander
Lanfranc
19
—
4
Urban
Anselm
16
—
o
Paschal
Ralph
8
6
4
Calixtus
William
13
9
2 1 13
Innocent
Theobald
22
4
1 2 16
Alexander
Thomas
8
6 28
I7 5 4
'The same
Richard
9
9 138
.
Lucius
Celestine
Baldwin
Hubert
6
0 17 9
3 excepting!
16 days. J
1 One, MS. 2. 2 27, MS. 2.
3 The second MS. states that the see was vacant only a single month.
4 38, MS. 2. 5 Alfelm, MS. 2. « Aluric, MS. 2. 1 2, MS. 2.
1 10 years 8 months and 16 days is the length of the vacancy, according to
"AS. 2. 9 3 years. Id.
VOL. IV. Z
CATALOGUE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY,
WITH THE NAMES OF THE POPES FROM WHOM THEY
RECEIVED THEIR PALLS.
GREGORY sent the pall to Augustine.
Boniface to Justus.
Honorius to Honorius and Deusdedit.
Vitalian to Theodore and Brihtuuald.
Gregory to Tatwin.
Gregory to Nothelm.
Gregory to Cuhtbert.
Paul to Breguuin.
Paul to lanberht.
Adrian to Aethelheard.
Leo to Wolfred.
Formosus to Pleimund.
John to Feologild.
John to Aethelhelm.
The same John to Wulfhelm.
Agapitus to Odo.
John gave the pall to Dunstan.
The same person gave it to Aethelgar.
John [sent it] to Sigeric.
The same John gave the pall to Aelfric and Aelfeg.
Pope Benedict gave palls to Aelfstane, and Living, and Aethelnoth.
Alexander gave palls to Eadsin and Rodberht.
Victor sent the pall by Godric the dean to Stigand.
Alexander gave the pall to Lanfranc.
Urban sent the pall to Anselm by Walter the cardinal.
A LIST OF THE SUCCESSION OP THE
ARCHBISHOPS OP CANTERBURY.
z 2
A LIST OF THE SUCCESSION
OP THE AECHBISHOPS OE CANTEEBUEY,
By a Canon of Lichfield.
AUGUSTIN was consecrated A.D. 600, sat sixteen years, and died
A.D. 616.
Laurence sat five years, and died on the fourth of the nones of
February [2d Feb.], A.D. 619.
Melletus sat five years, and died on the eighth of the kalends of
May [24th April], A.D. 624.
Justus sat nine years, and died on the fourth of the ides of Novem
ber [10th Nov.], A.D. 633.
Honorius sat twenty years, and died on the second of the kalends
of October [30th Sept.], A.D. 653. The see was vacant for
one year and six months.
Deusdedit was consecrated on the seventh of the kalends of April
[26th March], A.D. 655; he sat nine years six months
and four days, and died on the second of the ides of July
[14th July], A.D. 663.
Theodore was consecrated on the seventh of the kalends of April
[26th March], A. D. 665, and died A. D. 689. He sat twenty-
two years three months and twenty-six days.
Brectwald was elected on the first day of July, A.D. 691, conse
crated on the third of the kalends of July [29th June], and
enthroned on the second of the kalends of September [31st
August], A.D. 692. He sat thirty-eight years, and died on
the fifth of the ides of January [9th Jan.], A.D. 730.
Tatwin was consecrated on the tenth of June, A.D. 730, and sat
four years. He died A.D. 734.
Nothelm was consecrated A.D. 736, and died A.D. 741. He sat
five years.
Cuthbert sat seventeen years, and died A.D. 760.
Bregwin was consecrated A.D. 761, and died A.D. 764.
Lambrith was consecrated A.D. 766, sat twenty-seven years, and
died A.D. 793.
Athelard was translated A.D. 794; he sat twenty-three years, and
died A.D. 817.
Wilfred was consecrated A.D. 819, sat twenty-eight years, and died
A.D. 847.
Feolgeld sat three months, and died A. D. 849.
Ceolnoth was consecrated A.D. 852, sat forty-one months, and died
A.D. 856.
Ethered was consecrated A.D. 858, sat eighteen years, and died
A.D, 876.
342 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
Plemund was consecrated A.D. 878, sat thirty-four years, and died
A.D. 910.
Athelm was translated A.D. 911, sat thirteen years, and died
A.D. 924.
Wulfhelm was translated A.D. 926, sat fourteen years, and died
A.D. 940.
Odo was translated A.D. 940, sat twenty years, and died A.D. 961.
Elsin died in the Alps, A.D. 961.
Dunstan was translated, A.D. 962, and sat twenty-six years, dying
A.D. 988.
Ethelgar was translated A.D. 988, and sat one year, dying A.D. 989.
Elfric was translated A.D. 989, and sat eleven years; he died
A.D. 1000.
Siric was translated A.D. 1000; he sat for five years, and died
A.D. 1005.
Elfeg was translated A.D. 1005; he sat for six years and seven
months, and died A.D. 1012.
Living was translated A.D. 1013 ; and, having sat for seven years,
died A.D. 1020.
Ethelnoth was consecrated A.D. 1020; he sat for eighteen years,
and died A.D. 1038.
Eadsi was consecrated A.D. 1038, and died A.D. 1049, having sat
for eleven years.
Robert was expelled after a period of scarce two years.
Stigand was translated A.D. 1051, and deposed A.D. 1068, having
sat for seventeen years.
Lanfranc was consecrated on the fourth of the kalends of Septem
ber [29th Aug.], A.D. 1070, and died A.D. 1089, having sat
for nineteen years. There was a vacancy in the see for
four years.
Anselm was consecrated on the second of the nones of December
[4th Dec.], A.D. 1093, and died on the eleventh of the
kalends of May [21st April], A.D. 1109. He sat for sixteen
years, and there was a vacancy for five years.
Ralph was translated A.D. 1 1 14 ; and, having sat for nine years, he
died on the thirteenth of the kalends of November [20th
Oct.], A.D. 1121.
William was consecrated A.D. 1122; and, having sat for fifteen
years, he died A.D. 1136.
Theobald was consecrated A.D. 1138, and died A.D. 1161.
Thomas was consecrated on Trinity Sunday [3d June], A.D. 1162,
and died on the fourth of the kalends of January [29th
Dec.], A.D. 1170.
Richard was consecrated A.D. 1175, and died on the Sunday next
after the Advent of our Lord [9th Dec.], A.D. 1184.
Baldwin was translated A.D. 1184, and died A.D. 1191.
Reginald was elected, and died A.D. 1192.
Hubert was translated A.D. 1192; he sat for thirteen years, and
died on the fifth of the ides of July [llth July], A.D. 1205.
Stephen Langton was consecrated A.D. 1207, and died on the
eighth of the ides of July [8th July], A.D. 1218.
SUCCESSION OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF CANTERBURY. 343
Richard was consecrated A.D. 1219, and died A.D. 1231.
Edmund was consecrated on the festival of the Annunciation [25th
March], A.D. 1234, and died A.D. 1241.
Boniface was consecrated A.D. 1244, and died A.D. 1270.
Robert Kilwarby was consecrated A.D. 1272, and resigned A.D. 1278.
John Pecham was consecrated on the first Sunday in Lent [6th
March], A.D. 1278, and died A.D. 1292.
Robert Winchelse was elected A.D. 1292, and consecrated in the
month of September, A.D. 1294; he died on the fifth of
the ides of May [llth May], A.D. 1313.
Walter Reynald was translated on the thirteenth of the kalends of
March [17th Feb.], and died on the sixteenth of the
kalends of December [16th Nov.], A.D. 1327.
Simon Mepham was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, being the
fourth of the kalends of June [29th May], A.D. 1328, and
died on Tuesday, the fourth of the ides of October [12th
Oct.], A.D. 1333.
ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OE
WINCHESTER.
ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER,
FROM THE YEAR. 633 TO THE YEAR 1277.
BY A MONK OF WINCHESTER.
IN the year six hundred and thirty-three, Kinegils, son of Celric,
became king of the West Saxons. St. Birin, the bishop, baptized
him. By the same Birin, Kinewalch, son of Kinegils, was baptized :
and all the Saxons of the same kingdom, having embraced the faith,
were likewise baptized. He gave to St. Birin the city of Dorchester,
that he might reside there, until he could build in the royal city a
church worthy of so distinguished a prelate ; for it was his inten
tion to erect a temple of the first rank in Winchester ; and, as soon
as he had collected a vast number of building materials for the
work, he determined to make over, as a gift, for the erection of a
church, the whole of the land around Winchester, extending every
way thence, as from a centre, with a radius of seven leagues. But
because he was prevented from accomplishing his design by a
disorder that threatened to be fatal, he deputed the task to other
hands ; and, having summoned his son Kinewalch to his presence,
he made him pledge his soul, before St. Birin, that he would build
in Winchester a church worthy of the episcopal see, and that he
would on his part offer to God, for the work of his ministry, and
make over for ever, that circuit of land, which he had himself
marked out for the same church.
In the year six hundred and thirty-nine, Kinewalch, son of
Kinegils. He, after the disquiet which Penda, king of the
Mercians, had occasioned him by repudiating his daughter, built a
very beautiful church in Winchester, and made over and confirmed
all the land which his father had solemnly promised to the church.
But Agilbert, bishop of Dorchester, who succeeded Birin, having
refused to comply with the king's wish to transfer the see to Win
chester, the king, who was but slenderly acquainted with Agilbert's
language — who was a native of Gaul — seizing an opportunity that
presented itself, caused a certain Saxon, named Wine, to be conse
crated bishop of the new see ; and thus the diocese was divided
into two. King Kinewalch, after giving effect to his father's offer
ing of Chiltecumb, went on to enrich the church of Winchester
with gifts of his own, and conferred upon it three manors, that is
to say, Dunton, Alresford, and Wordia, and he was buried in it.
In the year six hundred and seventy, Escuin, a kinsman of
Kinegils, king of the West Saxons : he was buried at Winchester.
In the vear six hundred and seventy-two, Centuin (an adopted
348 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 683—
son of Kinegils), king of the West Saxons, was buried at Win
chester.
In the year six hundred and eighty-three, Ina, king of the West
Saxons. He gave to the church of Winchester, in the island
Vecta, which is now called Wight, in a place named Ewerland, thirty
hides of land, and in Bresding fifty hides.
In the year seven hundred and twenty- one, Ethelard, king of the
West Saxons. His consort, queen Fritheswitha, gave to the church
of Winchester, out of her own patrimony, Taunton. And Ethelard
himself, on his part, added to the manor aforesaid seven manses
for the building of the church.
In the year seven hundred and thirty-five, Cutred, a kinsman of
Ethelard, became king of the West Saxons. He gave to the church
of Winchester, at Muleburna, in the Isle of Wight, forty hides, and
at Banewade twenty-five hides, and at Witthingeba twenty-two
hides, and the land called Druce, and the manor called Clere.
In the year eight hundred, Egbert became king of the West
Saxons. He, on obtaining the sovereignty of the whole island, did
not forget to return thanks to God for the honour that had been
conferred upon him; and he gave to God and to the church
of Winchester thirty hides at Cawelburne, in the Isle of Wight ;
and at Scaldeblote forty-two hides and four towns, namely, Droke-
nesford, Wordia, Aweltone, and Beddintone. He was buried in
the church of Winchester.
In the year eight hundred and thirty- seven, Eadulf, son of
Egbert, became king of England. He had been subdeacon 1 in the
church of Winchester ; and, as king Egbert had no other heir, he
was taken, or, I should rather say, taken back, from clerical order
to the kingdom ; the pope granting him a dispensation. He tithed
the whole land of his dominions, and assigned every tenth hide to
the conventual churches throughout the district ; and hence it came
to pass that he restored to the church of Winchester the entire
land of Chiltecumb, as tithe for the one sole hide, which the kings
Kinegils and Kinewach had previously given, but which, between
his time and their's, had been alienated from the church. The
same king Edulf also gave to the same church of Winchester, for an
augmentation of Taunton, a hundred and forty-three hides of land ;
and he made over two manors — Brichtwelle and Wemberge — to
the same church, in which also he was buried.
In the year eight hundred and seventy-two, Elured, son of Edulf,
became king of England. He erected, at Winchester, in the burial-
ground of the episcopal church, a new monastery, which, endowed
with considerable property, he gave to St. Grimbald, with a view
to detain him in England. The whole kingdom of England, which
before his time had been rude and uncivilized, he instructed and
brought into order. He was so distinguished for his proverbs, that
no one could afterwards compete with him. King Elured was
buried in the new monastery at Winchester. This Elured gave, by
way of augmentation, to Taunton, the town which is called Rinc-
tune, for the work of the church of Winchester.
1 See Florence of Worcester, A.D. 827. (Oh. Hist. ii. 207.)
A.D. 959.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 349
In the year nine hundred and one, Edward, son of Elured, became
Icing of England. St. Edburga was his daughter, whose sacred body
really reposes inWinchester, at Nunnemenstre ; although the monks
of Malvern falsely boast that they possess it. He gave to the church
of Winchester four manors, — Husseburne, Whitchurch, Owertone,
and one of the places called Stoke. He also gave many farms to
the new monastery which his father built at Winchester, in which
he lies buried.
In the year nine hundred and twenty-four, Edelstan, son of
Edward, became king of England. He gave to the church of
Winchester the head of Justus the Martyr, and three manors —
Chilbeldinte, Enedford, and Eismeresworde. He also conferred
many favours upon the monastery of Malmesbury, in which he
was buried.
In the year nine hundred and forty-six, Edred, the brother
of Edmund, became king of England. His body is buried at
Winchester, to which, while yet alive, he restored two manors that
had been for a long time alienated, that is to say, — Dunton and
Hesseburn.
In the year nine hundred and fifty- nine, Edgar, the brother of
Edwy, and son of Edmund, became king of England. There was
not a monastery or church in England whose worship, or structure,
he did not improve. In the church of Winchester, and in the
new monastery, which, from the circumstance, is now called the
monastery of Hyde ; he placed monks in the room of clerks ;
because those clerks, nominally canonical, leaving to their substi
tutes., (maintained no matter how,) the duty of attendance in the
choir, the labour of watching, and the ministry of the altar, and
often absenting themselves for seven years from the sight of the
church, not to say of God, spent, where and as they thought proper,
whatever they received from their prebends. The church was
stripped bare within and without ; for the substitutes had not
wherewithal to clothe or to roof it ; and the aforesaid prebendaries
could not attend to such matters. Scarcely could one be found,
and he, perhaps, only on compulsion, who would bestow upon the
altar a sorry pall, or a chalice worth five shillings. King Edgar,
taking these things into consideration, and grieving that the rich
alms that had been bestowed upon the church should neither be
spent upon it, nor upon the church's ministers, nor upon the poor,
sent to these boasters, and frequently took order with Athelwold
their bishop, and with archbishop Dunstan, that those who pocketed
the property of the church for a given purpose should be obliged to
give constant attendance in the church. But when the canons
turned a deaf ear to the commands and warnings of the king, and
individually refused to suffer themselves to be confined within the
cloister for even an annual rental which amounted to one thousand
pounds of gold, the king, adhering to his resolution, and wishing
to have the services of religion performed rather by canons than by
a class of a stricter religion, deprived some of them of their
prebends, and bestowed them upon those substitutes whom he had
observed to be constant in their attendance at church. But they,
350 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 979—
too, now advanced to the post of canons, appointing substitutes for
themselves, became as bad as the former, aye, and more fond of
gadding, and more worldly minded than they. Accordingly, the
king, having entirely failed in his efforts to effect a reformation of
the canons, after he had caused them to break their fast, turned
them out of the church and the new monastery, and placed monks
in their room, having obtained from pope John the thirteenth, the
ratification and confirmation of the dispersion of the one party and
the assembling together of the other. Having settled matters
in this way, king Edgar enriched the new monastery with property,
and bestowed upon the church of Winchester the manor called
Awinton, and ten hides at Itinstoke, three hides at Madanlege,
thirteen hides at Breondune, two hides at Aderingefelde, and seven
hides at Thuca.1
King Edgar had two sons, — Edward, by his lawful queen ; and
Ethelred, by the widowed daughter of earl Ethel wold : this Ethel -
wold had given to the church of Winchester the vill which is
called the vill of Wilith, whom the king had transfixed with a spear,
in the forest of Werewell, on account of his beautiful wife.
In the year nine hundred and seventy-nine, Ethelred, the brother
of Edward the Martyr, became king of England. He gave to the
church of Winchester Hawnta and Sudtune, and a hide-and-a-half
in a place called Celseshord, and two fisheries at Brendeford, with
one virgate of land, and at Ginnahetchte with the land adjoining ;
and he restored Dunton, which had been twice alienated.
In one thousand and thirty-five, King Cnut gave to the church
of Winchester three hides of land, called Hille, and a shrine
for the relicks of St. Birin, and a candlestick of silver with six
branches, such as we see in these times in churches, made of
valuable bronze, and two bells. He was buried in the same
church.
In the year one thousand and forty-two, King Hardicanute died
at Lambeth, cut off by a sudden death, and he was buried in the
episcopal church at Winchester. In the time of king Hardicanute,
queen Emma lodged at Winchester, and was on very friendly terms
with Elwin, then bishop of the city of Winchester ; all powerful
in the kingdom, abounding in wealth, her affections were centered
in her son, who occupied the throne ; and her attention was*
engrossed by the bishop, for whom she had a great regard. Some
persons conveyed intelligence to Edward, in Normandy, touching
his mother's suspected familiarity with the bishop ; affirming that
it was chiefly owing to the bishop, that the mother shed no tears
for the death of one of her 2 sons, and kept the other out of sight.
Queen Emma, Hardicanute's mother, gave to the church of Win
chester, for the soul of king Hardicanute, many ornaments of gold
and silver, jewels, and costly vestments, and two manors — namely,
Westwode and Periperminster ; for the queen owned those
numerous manors which king Ethelred had given her for a dowry ;
and kings Canute and Hardicanute had established an hereditary
1 Druca, Dugd. Monast. i. 33.
2 Namely, Alfred, slain by earl Godwin. See Gaimar, p. 788.
A.D. 1043.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 351
right of assigning them to whatsoever places, and bestowing them
upon what persons soever, they thought proper.
In the year one thousand and forty-three, Edward, king of
England, son of Ethelred, came in disguise to Winchester, clad in
mean attire ; and feasting, at times in his mother's court, at times
in the bishop's mansion, but unrecognised, he attentively scrutinized
the looks which they exchanged. At last he was recognised, and
was elected king, and consecrated at Winchester. He ordained,
and confirmed by charter, that as often as he, or any of his suc
cessors, kings of England, should carry the crown to Winchester,
or Worcester, or Westminster, the precentor of the place should
receive from the treasury on that day half a mark, and the convent
a hundred simnel cakes and a barrel of wine. This charter is at
Westminster. He took to wife Edith the daughter of Godwin,
perpetual virginity being preserved by both. He honoured Godwin
above all men ; his mother he neither loved, nor discomposed in
public. He invited from Normandy certain persons who had been
kind to him in his exile ; among whom was Robert, whom he first
made bishop of London, and afterwards archbishop of Canterbury.
This archbishop fretted the mind of king Edward with so many
hints and inuendos, that he, though naturally disinclined to harsh
ness, was moved to such a pitch of bitter resentment, that he drove
from his kingdom, with his sons, that very earl Godwin, who had
made him king, and whose daughter he had espoused. From his
mother, queen Emma, he took away all that she possessed in the
world, even to the value of a farthing, and, having thrust her into
the abbey of Warewell, he caused her to be kept there in the ex
tremity of penury. Alwin, bishop of Winchester, his mother's
reported paramour, after stripping him of all his patrimonial
property, he forbade, on peril of his life, to set foot beyond the
boundary of the city of Winchester. Godwin, with his sons,
quitted the kingdom. The episcopal residence of bishop Alwin
became his prison. The queen was placed in custody at Warewell,
but subject to a confinement less strict than her son had enjoined ;
she was permitted to write to all the bishops whom she had
believed to be faithful to her, and to set forth her sorrows. Her
letters ran in this tenour ; — That she was more afflicted and abashed
at the bishop's disgrace than at her own : that she was ready to
prove before the tribunal of God, that the unjustly calumniated
prelate had never touched her flesh ; and that neither she herself,
nor he, had ever done, or wished to do, any thing to the prejudice
of the king : — That the bishops ought to seek the presence of the
sovereign, and to intercede for their fellow-bishop, and, by every
means in their power, persuade him to listen to his mother's justi
fication of herself and of the bishop : — That an upright conscience
publicly impeached of crime could not otherwise be purged than by
a public release ; and that she chose the ordeal of red-hot iron.
Only let them stipulate that, by the king's directions, the ordeal
should take place in the church of St. Swithun, at Winchester.
She was sure of the suffrage of the saint in confirmation of the
testimony of her own conscience. That if they delayed in carrying
352 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1043.
this matter into effect, her heart would break at the further exposure
of her poverty, because the chief and most intolerable curse of
poverty consists in this, that it makes men contemptible. That
the king would be universally disgraced if he chose rather to punish
a parent whose guilt was neither established nor acknowledged,
than to accept her clearance from the imputation, for the import
ance of the accusation increases in proportion to the rank of the
individual accused. In these days a mother is persecuted by her
son, a queen by a king, who also has put forth his hand against the
Lord's anointed.
Each of the bishops, to whom the queen had written, severally
gave her his advice in his reply ; and, having assembled in the
king's presence on a day appointed, they treated with him touching
his mother's complaints and supplications. King Edward, a man
of singular simplicity and inoffensiveness, who never 'did wrong
unless at the instigation of another, would have suffered himself to
be easily won over by the allegations of the bishops, and would have
mitigated whatever severity he had used against his mother or the
bishop under the misguidance of a groundless suspicion, not only
without demanding a clearance by ordeal, but would himself, by
begging pardon, have made amends for his presumption in any way
that the bishops might have prescribed. This he would have done,
had not archbishop Robert, who had been summoned by the king,
opposed it ; for so high did he stand in the king's estimation, that,
if he had said that a black crow was a white one, the king would
sooner have believed the archbishop's words than his own eyes.
The matter would have been brought to a close on that very day,
to the honour of both mother and son, if it had not happened that
when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord,
Satan had not come also among them. Archbishop Robert making
himself, unasked, the advocate of the stronger party, endeavoured, in
such terms as these, to thwart the intentions of the bishops, and to
alienate the king's affection from his mother. " Brethren, ye have
had communications with my lord the king, touching the business
of his mother — no woman, but a wild beast. But, (that I may spare
you,) you fling back the crime of the mother upon the son, not in
your own words, but in the words of another. This most shameless
of women has had the effrontery to wrong the king by belching forth
her defamatory expressions against him ; and has dared to call that
paramour of hers, — who knows how to put on the vizor of sanctity,
who talks of virtue, and plays the adulterer ; that man whom no one
would scruple to subject to the basest infamy, in order that she may
charge the sovereign with sacrilege, — ' the Lord's anointed.' Mark
the wickedness of the woman. She calls her Elwin ' the Lord's
anointed/ only for the purpose of having the king punished
for raising his hand against him. But let us come to the matter in
hand. The woman wants to clear the bishop's character ; but who
will clear hers ? one who is reported to have consented to the
murder of her son Elured, and to have procured poison for Edward?
But, grant that she has an authority above her sex's condition
because she is queen, if you wish me to consent to a mode of
A.D. 1043.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 353
purgation that has hitherto never been heard of, you too must con
sent that I shall determine what that ordeal is to be. And if she
goes through it wholly unhurt, you may condemn me to be stripped
of my rank before God, and the king who is on his trial ; and may
reinstate in their former rank those who shall be acquitted. The
entire guilt of the king, whom I presume to be innocent, I will take
upon myself. Let that infamous woman take for herself four, for
the bishop five, that is nine steps, without stopping, upon nine burn
ing hot ploughshares with naked feet. If she stumble, if she does
not press with the entire sole of her foot each of the ploughshares,
if she be hurt, even in the slightest degree, let sentence be passed
against her as an adulteress and a strumpet. Let each of them,
having taken the vows of the strictest order, be imprisoned for life in
a dungeon. And you must admit that this sentence is the result
rather of tenderness than severity, which, I will not say decrees,
but, endures, that a capital crime be purged by an ordeal of this
peculiar character." The king and the bishops seemed to approve
of the archbishop's sentence ; and it was determined to assemble
at Winchester on an appointed day.
The sentence was reported to the queen, who was not more dis
composed at it than if she had been invited to a bridal. The news
was spread throughout the kingdom that the queen was to undergo
this ordeal ; and such was the throng of people that flocked to
Winchester, that so vast a concourse on one day was never before
seen there. The king himself, St. Edward, came to Winchester ;
nor did a single noble of the kingdom absent himself, except arch
bishop Robert, who feigned illness at Dover, in order that, if
matters should turn out otherwise than he expected, he might be
able to make his escape without difficulty. And so it happened.
The queen was brought back, by the king's orders, from Ware-
well to Winchester ; and during the whole night that preceded the
day of her conflict, she kept watch at the tomb of St. Swithun. I
need not say that she prayed with her whole heart, that during
the night she had but little sleep, that she implored that in a danger
so dreadful she might be thought worthy of being delivered. And
yet, though she tried to keep awake, she slept a little, and saw
St. Swithun standing by her, and heard him addressing her in these
words: — " Be stedfast, my daughter; I am Swithun, whom thou
invokest ; I am with thee ; fear not. They that persecute thee
shall be confounded ; because when thou passest through the fire,
the flame shall not hurt thee. But thou shalt transfer this evil to
thy son." As soon as it was day the clergy and populace assembled
at the church ; the king himself took his seat in front of the throne.
The queen was led forth before her son ; and, on being asked
whether she was willing to go through what she had undertaken,
she signified her assent in these words : —
" My lord and son, I am that Emma wrho gave thee birth ; in
thy presence impeached by thy subjects of guilt against thee and
Elured, my children, and of being an accomplice in having wrought
uncleanness and treason with the bishop of this church, I this day
call upon God to bear witness against my body by destroying it,
VOL. IV. A A
354 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1043—
if I have committed, even in thought, any of those crimes that
have been laid to my charge." The pavement of the church
having been swept, there were placed upon it nine redhot plough
shares/ over which a short prayer was said, and then the queen's
shoes and stockings were drawn off, and laying aside her mantle,
and pulling off her veil, with her garments girded closely about her,
between two bishops, one on either hand, she was conducted to the
torture. The bishops, that led her, wept, and, though they were
more terrified than she was, they encouraged her not to be afraid.
All persons who were within the church wept; and there was
a general exclamation, " O St. Swithun, St. Swithun, help her !"
If at this moment there had been a peal of thunder, the people
would not have heard it; with such might, with such shouts, did
they rend the firmament, that St. Swithun must, then or never,
have hastened to the rescue. God suffers violence, and his servant,
St. Swithun, is forcibly pulled down from the skies. All was
hushed, and the queen uttered this prayer, " God, who didst
deliver Susanna from the wicked elders, and who didst deliver the
three children from the fiery furnace, vouchsafe, for the merits
of St. Swithun, to rescue rne from the fire that is prepared
for me." Behold a miracle ! Her feet guided by the bishops, she,
making nine steps upon the nine ploughshares, and pressing each
of them with the full weight of her whole body, and thus treading
upon the nine ploughshares, she felt neither the naked iron nor the
fire. Then said she to the bishops, " Shall I not obtain that which
I have most desired ? Why lead me out of the church, who in the
church must undergo the ordeal ? " For she was still advancing,
and knew not that the ordeal was past. " Where to ? " the bishops
replied, as well as they could for sobbing ; " Look, lady, it is all
over ! What you think you have still to do is already done." She
looked, and her eyes were opened ; then she saw the iron for the
first time, and perceived the miracle. " Lead me," she said, " to
my son, that he may see my feet, arid know that I have suffered no
harm." The bishops, returning with the queen, found him, with
his head uncovered, prostrate upon the ground ; and now his voice
failed him for pity, for tears mingled with his words, and he could
not refrain himself. And when they had lifted him up, and told
him the whole matter afresh, that most sacred personage sunk
down at his mother's feet, saying, " Mother, I have sinned against
heaven and before thee ; I am no longer worthy to be called thy
son." His mother replied, " Summon to your presence bishop
Elwin ; and when you have given him satisfaction, you will instantly
obtain pardon of me/' When the bishop, who had not taken his
seat among the bishops, was summoned to the king, the monarch
sought forgiveness with tears, and obtained it ; and, after being
beaten with scourges by each of the bishops, he was smitten thrice
by his weeping mother's hand. And thus having kissed each
other, the king received them with favour, and they received the
king with veneration ; and the queen and the bishop recovered all
1 On this form of ordeal, see Martene de Antiquis Ecclesiae ritibus, lib. iii.
cap. vii. § 7
A.D. 1070.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 355
that had been taken from them. By the king's command the
nature and order of the miracle was proclaimed by the lamenting
throng in the church and in the churchyard without ; and so sud
denly was their weeping turned into laughter, that you might see
them both laughing and crying at the same moment.
Queen Emma, on receiving all the manors of her dowry, which
former kings had confirmed to her, was not unmindful of her
deliverer ; and on that very day she presented to St. Swithun, for
the nine ploughshares, nine manors, the names of which are, ....
Bishop Elwin gave, out of his own patrimony, to St. Swithun, nine
other manors, named .... Edward the king himself ratified and
confirmed the donations of the queen and of the bishop, and gave
in addition, out of his domain, two manors, viz. Meones and
Portland,1 and an estate of five hides, called Wrockeshale.2 The
queen and the bishop strove to outvie each other in ornamenting
the church of St. Swithun out of their own treasures : but he was
outdone ; either because her ability was greater than his, or because
her heart was more set upon the decoration of the house of God.
In the year one thousand and forty-seven, bishop Elwin died,
and was succeeded by Stigand, who, out of the gifts of queen
Emma, erected a large cross, with two images, — of Mary and John ;
and gave them, along with the cross-beam, richly attired in gold and
silver, to the church of Winchester.
In the year one thousand and fifty-two, queen Emma departed
this life, and was buried in the church of St. Swithun, at Win
chester.
In the year one thousand and fifty-three, earl Godwin died.
Githa, the wife of Godwin, a woman of considerable wealth,
bestowed a great sum in alms upon many churches for the benefit
of his soul ; and gave to the church of Winchester two manors —
Bleodone and Eramkumbe, together with ornaments of various
sorts.
In the year one thousand and sixty-nine, Aldred, who, from
being a monk of Winchester, became bishop of Hereford, and next
archbishop of York, publicly excommunicated the king, because he
carried himself in the realm contrary to ecclesiastical law. Not
long afterwards he passed to rest from this troublesome life.
In the year one thousand and seventy, Peter and John, cardinals,
sent by pope Alexander, arrived in England, and, having summoned
a council at the pleasure of the king, deposed archbishop Stigand
and many other bishops and abbots, with the consent and approba
tion of king William ; and the king gave the archbishopric of
Canterbury to Lanfranc, abbot of Caen, the archbishopric of York
to Thomas, and the bishopric of Winchester to Walkelin. But in
the same year the king seized upon all the gold and silver that were
in the churches. Stigand had previously held in his own hands the
archbishopric of Canterbury, and the bishopric of Winchester, and
many abbeys, making market of the bishoprics and abbeys, securing
for himself some of the sacred honours of the churches with money,
and selling the rest to others by contract. But I am of opinion
1 See Cod. Diplom. Saxon, No. 891. 2 Id. No. 768.
A A 2
356 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1072—
that he erred through want of judgment ; for he was an illiterate
man, and was not aware that he was doing wrong ; thinking that
matters ecclesiastical ought to be transacted just in the same way
as men deal with the affairs of this world. But he never obtained
the pall from Rome.
A. D. 1072. In this year Stigand, who had been lately archbishop,
was arrested by the king's command, and placed in the town
of Winchester, where, though sorely against his will, he made
amends for his misdeeds in the archbishopric ; for the recollection
of what he gave up afflicted him more than its possession had
afforded him satisfaction. There at last he died ; and he was
buried, with due respect, in the church of Winchester, over which
he had presided for a short time.1 The same Stigand had given to
the church of Winchester a very large cross, with two images ad
mirably wrought in gold and silver. In the same year, Wulfric,
abbot of the new monastery, was degraded, and Rewalan was
appointed in his stead.
A.D. 1073. Be it known that king William was wont, every
year, while he was at peace, to be crowned thrice — at Worcester at
Christmas, at Winchester at Easter, and in London at Whit
suntide.
It has been an ancient custom, and it was made a rule in council
by archbishop Lanfranc, that in all councils the archbishop of York
should sit on the right hand of the archbishop of Canterbury, the
bishop of London on his left, and the bishop of Winchester next
to the archbishop of York. If the archbishop of York was not
present, then the bishop of London sat on the right hand, the
bishop of Winchester on the left ; the rest of the bishops in the
order of their consecration.
A.D. 1079. Bishop Walkelin began to rebuild the church of
Winchester from its foundation.
A.D. 1082. Simeon, a man distinguished for his love of virtue,
brother of bishop Walkelin, from being provost of Winchester,
(whom we call prior,) was made abbot of Ely ; and Godefrid,
a monk of the same place, a man of spotless beneficence and piety,
was put in his place. How eminent the aforesaid provosts Simeon
and Godefrid were for prudence, goodness, and charity, is attested
by their gifts which still remain in the church of Winchester.
Now the said Simeon was brother of bishop Walkelin, and a monk
of St. Ouen : on being made prior of Winchester, when he marked
how the monks, in the refectory, constantly ate flesh, he caused an
exquisite dish of fish to be cooked, and laid before them ; with which
they were so delighted, that they requested that such dishes might
always be served up to them, and said that they would then gladly
abstain from flesh. They were accordingly supplied with fish, and
ate no more flesh.
A.D. 1084. Hugh, bishop of London, died; and Arfast, bishop
of Norwich. Wulfnod, abbot of Chertsey, prevented by death,
demised that abbey to Odo. Alicia succeeded Beatrice in the
abbey of the nuns of Winchester.
1 From A.D. 1047 to 1052.
A. D. 1092.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 357
A. D. 1086. Henry, the king's son, was knighted; and to three
of the king's chaplains were three bishoprics given, — London to
Maurice, Norwich to William, and Chester to Robert; and to
Gerold, a monk of Winchester, was given the abbey of Cranborne,
which he transferred to Tewkesbury. Cristina, the king's daughter,
a virgin devoted to God, was made a nun at Rumsey. It is said,
that the king granted to bishop Walkelin, for the completion of the
church of Winchester, which he had commenced, as much timber
of the forest of Hanepinges as he could get, with the aid of
carpenters, in four days and nights. Having, accordingly, collected
a vast number of carpenters, the whole wood was felled within the
given time, and carried to Winchester. After this the king
came to Hanepinge, and, looking about him, as if bewildered,
he exclaimed, " Am I bewitched ? or, am T beside myself ? Where
am I ? Had I not here a delightful wood, near Winchester?"
As soon as he found out what had been done, he became exaspe
rated. Thereupon Walkelin, snatching up an old cope, demanded
of the king's door-keepers admission into the royal chamber ; and,
falling at his feet, he said, " My lord, I know that you have many
clerks and chaplains waiting for preferment ; and it is for this
reason that you seek occasion against me. Take back, then, if it
please you, the bishopric you have given me, Reserve for me,
with your friendship, the office which I have long held in your
chapel." More need scarcely be added. At last said the king,
" In sooth, Walkelin, I have been too lavish a donor ; and thou
hast been too greedy an acceptor." So then he made his peace
with the king, and, friendship being restored, he returned to his
bishopric.
A.D. 1087. London, with the church of St. Paul, was burnt to
the ground. Stigand, bishop of Chichester, departed this life.
A.D. 1088. Gila, bishop of Wells, died; and was succeeded by
John, the king's chaplain and physician, who, after giving a large
sum to the king, transferred the see to Bath. Godefrid, bishop of
Chichester, died, and [Ralph de Luffa] succeeded him. On the
death of Ralph, abbot of Winchester, the king assigned the abbey
to Ralph Passeflabere, his chaplain.
A.D. 1089- On the death of Lanfranc, the king entrusted the
archbishopric of Canterbury to Ralph Passeflabere ; and he gave to
the king whatever profits he could thence obtain, that he might
bear his promotion in mind.
A.D. 1090. The king carried off a large treasure from the church
of Winchester.
A.D. 1091. Ralph obtained the bishopric of Chichester; and
Herbert, abbot of Ramsay, obtained the bishopric of Norwich ; an4
William, the bishopric of Durham. The church of Croyland was
burnt down.
A.D. 1092. The king entrusted to Ralph Passeflabere the bi
shopric of Lincoln and the abbey of Chertsey : for abbot Odo
resigned it, because he did not like to hold it of the king, after the
manner of secular persons. But the aforesaid Ralph, a man who
exceeded all others in artful villany, rifled the churches that had
358 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1093—
been entrusted to him of all their property, and reduced both rich
and poor to such a state of penury that they deemed death itself
preferable to life under such a tyrant.
A.D. 1093. On the sixth of the ides of April [8th April], in the
presence of nearly all the bishops and abbots of England, the monks
removed from the old monastery of Winchester to the new one,
with the utmost exultation and rejoicing. And on the Feast of
St. Swithun [2nd July], having gone in procession from the new
monastery to the old one, they carried thence the shrine of St.
Swithun, and placed it in the new one with great ceremony. And
on the following day, being that of lord Walkelin the bishop, the
people commenced pulling down the old monastery; and it was
completely razed in that year, except one aisle and the high altar.
A.D. 1094. A violent quarrel occurred between archbishop
Thomas,1 and Robert, elect of Lincoln, because the archbishop
affirmed that the bishopric of Lincoln ought to be subject to him,
and because he prevented Anselm from consecrating him. Robert
afterwards gave the king three thousand marks, to free the bishopric
of Lincoln from subjection to the archbishopric of York ; and this
he did, at the same time giving the archbishop two abbeys, namely,
that of Selby and St. Oswald in Gloucester. Some relics of St.
Swithun, and of many other saints, are discovered under the altar
of the old monastery. Abbot Simeon died.
A.D. 1097. The king, having committed the realm to the care
of Walkelin and Ralph Passeflabere, passed over to the continent.
Ralph held under his guardianship sixteen churches that were
destitute of pastors, bishoprics and abbeys, which he reduced to the
lowest state of poverty. Those churches which had pastors over
them paid yearly to the king three hundred or four hundred marks,
some more, some less. Such was the distress of both clergy and
people, that life itself became a burden to them.
A.D. 1098. Bishop Walkelin, of venerable and pious memory,
departed to the Lord, whom with his whole heart he had loved.
The king had given orders, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord,
just after the service of mass had begun, that he should send him,
without a moment's delay, two hundred pounds. But he, well
knowing that he could not do that upon the instant, without plun
dering the poor, or rifling the treasury of the church, was rendered
weary of life by this and other things of the like sort, and, having
offered up a prayer, begged that he might be delivered from
his unhappy existence ; and this actually took place ten days after
wards. He was indeed a man of blameless piety and sanctity, of
boundless wisdom ; and of such rigid abstinence, that he' ate
neither flesh nor fish, and rarely tasted either malt liquor or wine,
and then very sparingly. He spent all his time with the monks ;
and whenever he celebrated mass in his chapel at Winchester, he
had monks for his deacon and subdeacon. In short, he loved his
convent as much as if they were all gods. He greatly improved
the church of Winchester in the solemnity of its divine service, in
the number of its monks, and in the structure of its dwellings. At
1 He was archbishop of York.
A.D. 1108.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 359
first, indeed, the new-comer felt a dislike to the monks ; but he
soon overcame this, and often regretted that transient disesteem.
Afterwards he cherished them as his children, loved them as his
brethren, honoured them as his masters, and at times showed
himself both helpful and affable. He never used harsh language to
any one, declaring that the episcopal severity would sully his
reputation with an unseemly blot, if he were to stoop to the lan
guage of reproach towards the poor. One thing occasioned him
exceeding pain, namely, that he had deprived the monks of lands
to the value of three hundred pounds, which he appropriated
to himself and his successors in the bishopric.
A.D. 1099. Ralph was made bishop of Durham. Osmund,
bishop of Salisbury, died. The same Osmund caused the church of
Salisbury to be built and consecrated.
A.D. 1100. The king was shot through with an arrow, in the
New Forest, by Walter Tirel, and was buried in the church of St.
Swithun at Winchester. His brother Henry was consecrated king,
in London, by Maurice, bishop of London. The king, therefore,
presented to William, his chancellor, the bishopric of Winchester;
but he declined to receive it, except from archbishop Anselm.
He restored to Odo the abbey of Chertsey. He gave Coventry to
Robert, bishop of Chester. Ralph Passeflabere was thrown into
prison. Hugh, from being a monk of Winchester, was made abbot
of the new monastery.
A.D. 1101. Ralph de Passeflabere escaped from prison; and re
paired to the duke of Normandy. The king was crowned at Win
chester at Easter ; and Gifard, with Anselm 's assent, received the
bishopric of Winchester. Duke Robert came to England, with two
hundred ships, and Ralph Passeflabere along with him. After many
disasters brought upon the kingdom, the brothers were reconciled ;
that is to say, on this condition, that the king should give duke Robert
two thousand pounds a* year. He restored his bishopric to Ralph.
A.D. 1102. London was burnt down twice; so also was Win
chester ; and Gloucester, with the abbey. Roger, the king's chap
lain, was made bishop of Salisbury.
A.D. 1103. William Giffard was deprived of the bishopric of
Winchester, because he declined to receive it from Gerald, arch
bishop of York, and went to Rome. On his return, he obtained
his bishopric, with all the property of which it had been despoiled
within and without.
A.D. 1107. Eduif, a monk of Winchester, obtained the abbey of
Malmesbury.
A.D. 1107. William Giffard, and Robert, bishop of Salisbury,
were consecrated by archbishop Anselm. Ernulf, prior of Canter
bury, obtained the abbey of Peterborough ; Hugh, monk of Win
chester, that of Chertsey ; and Peter, that of Gloucester. Maurice,
bishop of London, died. Godefrid, prior of Winchester, of vene
rable memory, departed this life, and was succeeded by Gaudfrid,
a monk of the same place. The tower of the church fell, on the
nones of October [7th Oct.].
A.D. 1108. Ralph, bishop of Chichester, caused the church to
360 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1109—
be dedicated. Gundulf, bishop of Rochester, died; and arch
bishop Anselm gave the bishopric to Ralph, abbot of Seez. Gerold,
archbishop of York, died, and was succeeded by one of the king's
clerks, named Thomas. Richard, a clerk of the count of Belesme,
obtained the bishopric of London.
A.D. 1109. Gerold, abbot of Tewksbury, having neither the in
clination nor the ability to satiate the king's avarice with gifts,
left his abbey and returned to the church of Winchester, in which
he had made his profession.
A.D. 1110. The king caused the monastery of St. Grimbald to
be removed from the precincts of the episcopal church to the
suburb of the city, on the north side, with the monks and relics.
Robert was made abbot of Tewksbury.
A.D. 1111. Bishop William deposed prior Gaufrid ; and, with
the consent of the convent, that Gaufrid, who had the charge of the
granary, was put in his room. In the same year bishop William,
will he, nill he, gave to the king eight hundred marks. In this
year were burnt down Canterbury, Taunton, Oxford, and many
other towns. In this year the relics of St. Adelwold were taken out
of the old shrine and placed in a new one, in the presence of the
queen, three bishops, and five abbots.
A.D. 1113. Peter, abbot of Gloucester, died, and was succeeded
by William, a monk of the same church.
A.D. 1114. Theobald, obtained the bishopric of Worcester. In
the same year, Thomas, archbishop of York, departed this life, and
was succeeded by Turstan. Ralph, bishop of Rochester, obtained
the archbishopric of Canterbury. The church of Chicester was
burnt down. The archbishop of Canterbury gave the bishopric of
Rochester to Ernulf, abbot of Peterborough, and the abbey of
Peterborough to John, a monk of Seez.
A.D. 1115. Reginald, bishop of Hereford, departed this life, and
was succeeded by Gaufrid.
A.D. 1116. There was a dissension between the archbishops;
because he of York, refusing to be consecrated by him of Canter
bury, resigned the archbishopric without an equivalent. In the
same year the pope demanded of the king certain customs, which
his predecessor never received ; wherefore the king sent to him
Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, and Herbert, bishop of Norwich,
and Hugh, abbot of Chertsey. Robert, bishop of Chester, died;
and Herlewin, abbot of Glastonbury.
A.D. 1117. Turstan, archbishop of York, and Herbert, bishop
of Norwich, and Hugh, abbot of Chertsey, returned from the
Roman pontiff. Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, remained with
the king in Normandy. Robert, the first prior, accepted the
priorate at Merton. Gilbert, abbot of Westminster, died.
A.D. 1118. Edulf, without reason assigned, lost the abbey of
Malmesbury.
A.D. 1119. Gaufrid, bishop of Hereford, died. Pope Calixtus
held a council at St. Remigius [at Reims], and consecrated Tur
stan, archbishop of York. Gaufrid was made abbot of St.
Alban's. Henry, earl of Warwick, died.
A. D. 1125.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 361
A.D. 1121. The king gave to Richard his clerk the bishopric
of Hereford ; to Robert, the bishopric of Chester ; to Everard,
the bishopric of Norwich; and the abbey of Westminster to
Herbert, a monk of the same place; the abbey of Abingdon
to Vincent ; and the abbey of Glastonbury to Sefrid, a monk of
Seez.
A.D. 1122. There occurred a strange dissension (more fit to be
buried in oblivion than recorded) between William, bishop of
Winchester, and his monks, on the subject of dilapidations, and
more especially respecting nine churches of which he had deprived
them, and which had belonged to the manors of the monks. As
they knew not what to do, they turned the crucifixes upside down,
and went in procession, barefooted, and, contrary to the course of
the sun and to the custom of the church ; to imply that, as the
bishop] had, contrary to the canonical decrees, deprived those who
served God in his church of their necessary food, so they would
serve the church in a way opposed to law and to the ecclesiastical
decrees. The king took part with the monks, but nearly all the
principal nobility of England sided with the bishop. Gloucester,
with the church of St. Peter, was burnt down.
A.D. 1123. In this year, on the death of Ralph, archbishop of
Canterbury, William of Curbuil, prior of St. Ositha, succeeded,
and was consecrated by William Giffard, bishop of Winchester.
Theobald, bishop of Worcester, died.
A.D. 1124. William Giffard and the monks were reconciled,
through the mediation of the king ; for by the king's command
the bishop came unattended into the charter of the monks ; and
the monks, as the king had enjoined them, prostrated themselves,
barefooted, at his feet, promising full satisfaction for what they had
done amiss. And he, observing their humiliation and remorse,
fell down at their feet ; for he was a man of blameless piety, and
the meekest of human beings. He complied with all their
demands, and by his charter made over to the convent these and
many other things, to be held by them for ever, under the bond of
anathema.
A.D. 1125. All the mintmasters of the kingdom were mutilated,
except three, at Winchester. John de Crema held a council in Lon
don. It is reported that Ralph de Passeflabere was accused before
the said John, of incontinence, and of many other things that are
unbecoming holy persons : but, though often summoned to undergo
degradation, he met the citations with divers excuses, and did not
make his appearance before the judgment-seat. Hereupon the
legate hastened to Durham,1 and was received with due respect.
After the wine had circled freely, and was beginning to work, the
legate became deeply enamoured of a young lady of eminent per
sonal charms, the niece of the bishop. He made an assignation
with her, arid she, as the bishop had desired her, went to his bed
chamber to put it in order, according to the Roman custom. When
she had lain down upon the bed, the bishop, with the clerks and
1 This Ralph Flumbard, or Passeflabcre, as he is here called, was at this time
Billion of Durham.
362 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1126—
attendants, entered the chamber, bearing goblets and lamps, which
with their radiance, illumined the shades of night. Standing
round the legate's couch, they shouted aloud, " Benedicite, bene-
dicite." Whereat he, astounded, said, "By St. Peter, what are
ye about? " " My lord/' said the bishop, "it is the custom of
our country, whenever a nobleman is married, for his friends to
pay him this mark of respect and courtesy. Rise, then, and drink
what is in the cup which I hold in my hand. If you refuse to do
so, assuredly you shall instantly drink of a cup, after which you
shall thirst no more." Up he rose then, will he, nill he, and, naked
as he was, he drank to the bride half of what was in the bishop's
goblet. The bishop then retired, no longer in dread of losing his
bishopric. But the legate, before the dawn of day, making his
escape with his disgrace and his concubine, returned with all possible
speed to Rome.
A.D. 1126. Prior Gaufrid died.
A.D. 1127. Randulf, bishop of Durham, died.
A.D. 1128. William, bishop of the church of Winchester, the
most compassionate and pious of men, departed to the Lord. This
man, of venerable and grateful memory, after troubles and molest
ations that had been brought upon the monks of Winchester at the
suggestion and wicked instigation of profligate men, and after they
had been mutually reconciled, loved them, all and singular, as his
own soul ; insomuch that, as often as he came to Winchester, he
went down to the church-door, and, after offering up a prayer
with groanings, and sometimes with tears, visited the monks,
whether they were assembled in the cloister, or the refectory, and
gave them his blessing. And as often as he could, he sought
opportunity to be with them ; so that he used to spend the noon
with them in their dormitory, to take refreshment with them m the
refectory, and that sometimes at supper too ; and he would take
the lowest seat with the novices. Finally, he assumed the habit of
a monk, and breathed out his spirit to God in the monks'
infirmary.
A.D. 1129. Henry, the nephew of king Henry, son of his Bister
Adela, brother of Stephen, count of Moreton and Boulogne, after
wards king, from being abbot of Glastonbury, became bishop of
Winchester.
A.D. 1130. Robert obtained the bishopric of Hereford.
A.D. 1134. Henry, bishop of Winchester, fulfilled the office of
legate in England.
A.D. 1138. Bishop Henry caused a residence, resembling a
palace, to be built, with a very strong tower, in Winchester ; also
the castles of Merton, and Farnham, and Wautham, and Dunton,
and Taunton.
A.D. 1139. Roger, bishop of Salisbury, died, and the arch
bishop of York.
A.D. 1141. King Stephen was taken prisoner by Robert, earl of
Gloucester. Whereupon the empress was received as regent at
Winchester, by the lord legate, Henry, bishop of Winchester, and
nearly all the nobility of England, and received the homage and
A.D. 1149.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 363
fealty of all. The Londoners, however, did not take the oath of
fealty, or, if they did, they took it unwillingly. But whether they
did so or not, they were perpetually plotting against her ; insomuch
that when she happened to visit London, they tried by every means
to get possession of her person ; but, forewarned, she left all her
moveables, and, with a few of her attendants, escaped privately.
Then there ensued a dissension between the legate and the
empress ; and she, with her adherents, held the royal castle and
the eastern portion of Winchester : the townsmen sided with her :
the legate and his party, and the Londoners, held the castle, with
the western portion of Winchester. It is needless to add more.
The city was burnt and laid waste. The church of the nuns, and
the church of Hyde were burnt ; and the great cross was stripped
of its outer covering, and within it were found upwards of five
hundred marks of silver, and thirty of gold.
A.D. 1143. Pope Innocent died, and was succeeded by Celes-
tine. Bishop Henry, during the pontificate of the aforesaid pope
Innocent, on account of the extraordinary regard they had for each
other, visited Rome. In what year he went thither I cannot tell ;
but he prevailed upon the pope to change the bishopric of Win
chester into an archbishopric, and the abbey of Hide into a
bishopric, and to subject the bishopric of Chichester to himself.
And this he did on account of the frequent disputes which took
place between the bishop and the archbishop of Canterbury; for
the one deemed himself superior, because he was archbishop, the
other, because he was legate.
A.D. 1145. Gaufrid, abbot of St. Alban's, died, and was suc
ceeded by Ralph.
A.D. 1146. Robert, earl of Gloucester, died. This Robert was
a good man, and the most loyal of the grandees of all England.
When the adherents of Henry, bishop of Winchester, set fire to the
church of the nuns of Winchester and Werewel, and the church of
Hide, he spared the church of St. Swithun, although he might have
burnt it if he had thought proper.
A.D. 1147- William, archbishop of York, was banished from his
archbishopric ; and Henry, bishop of Winchester, on account of
his sanctity, and because the archbishop had ordained and conse
crated him, received him, with his attendants, with due respect,
into his house, and provided him and his with necessaries. But
he, as far as he could, and as far as bishop Henry would let him,
spent his time with the monks of Winchester, and prized their
holiness of life as much as that of angels, eating and drinking with
them, and sleeping in their dormitory.
A.D. 1148. Robert, bishop of Hereford, died, and was succeeded
by Gilbert Folioth, abbot of Gloucester.
A.D. 1149. The greater number of the monks of Hide went to
Rome, with complaints against Hugh de Lens, their abbot, against
whom an appeal had previously been made by the same monks
touching certain controversies which had been agitated amongst
them. The same monks had also appealed against bishop Henry,
concerning the pillaging of the treasure of their church, and more
364 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1150—
especially concerning the removal of the precious ornaments of the
great cross of their church, and their abstraction.
A.D. 1150. The relics of the holy confessors, Birin, Swithun,
^Edda, Birstan, and Elfege, were translated. Gaufrid, abbot of St.
Alban's, died, and was succeeded by Robert de Gorram.
A.D. 1151. Henry, bishop of Winchester, went to Rome to
clear himself before the supreme pontiff from the charges which
had been made against him by Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, and
the monks of Hide, and many others. Having made his peace
with the pope, after much wrangling, and many gifts presented by
the bishop, and many more promised by him, he returned with his
original authority, to his own possessions.
A.D. 1152. Theobald of Blois, brother of bishop Henry, died;
also Gilbert de Clare, and Ralph de Peronne.
A.D. 1154. William, archbishop of York, having made his peace
with his people, through the mediation of bishop Henry, when he
had returned from exile, was cut off by poison, as is reported, the
poison having been put by his archdeacon in his own chalice.
A.D. 1155. Robert, bishop of Exeter, and Matilda, abbess of
Ramsey, and Robert de Gorram, abbot of St. Alban's, departed
this life.
A.D. 1159. Walter, bishop of Chester, died; as also Ingulf,
abbot of Abingdon ; and Roger, abbot of Evesham ; and William,
earl de Warrenne, on his way home from the siege of Toulouse.
A.D. 1160. Robert, bishop of Exeter, and Alured, bishop of
Worcester, died,
A.D. 1161. Master Bartholomew was made bishop of Exeter,
and Richard Pecche, of Chester. London was burnt, and Win
chester, and Canterbury, and Exeter.
A.D. 1162. Thomas was consecrated archbishop at Canterbury,
by Henry, bishop of Winchester, in the presence of fourteen
bishops, on the octave of Whitsuntide [3rd June],1 after having
filled the office of chancellor for five years. He was then in his
forty-fourth year.
A.D. 1163. Gilbert Folioth resigned the bishopric of Hereford,
and took the bishopric of London. Roger, the son of Robert,
earl of Gloucester, was made bishop of Worcester, and Robert de
Melun, bishop of Hereford ; they were consecrated by the arch
bishop. In the same year archbishop Thomas dedicated the
monastery of Reading, in the presence of king Henry, and several
of the nobles of England. Henry2 of Essex was overcome by
Robert of Mountford, and became a monk of Reading.
A.D. 1164. William, the king's brother, died; likewise Roger,
abbot of Reading, and Walkelin, abbot of Abingdon.
A.D. 1166. Robert, bishop of Bath, died; and also Robert de
Chenni, bishop of Lincoln ; and Robert de Melun, bishop of
Hereford ; and Robert de Gorram, abbot of St. Alban's, who was
succeeded by Simeon ; and Gaufrid, earl of Mandeville.
A.D. 1167. The great cross was consecrated by bishop Henry.
1 Other authorities say, on the 27th May, which was Whitsunday.
2 See Dugd. Baron, i. 407, 463.
A.D. 1135.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 365
A.D. 1168. Robert, earl of Leicester, died, and Patrick,1 bishop
[earl] of Salisbury.
A.D. 1169. Nigel, bishop of Ely, and Hilary, bishop of Chi-
chester, died.
A.D. 1170. Simeon, abbot of St. Alban's, died.
A.D. 1171. Henry, bishop of Winchester, than whom never
was man more chaste and prudent, more compassionate, or more
earnest in transacting ecclesiastical matters, or in beautifying
churches, departed to the Lord, whom with his whole heart he had
loved, and whose ministers, the monks, and all other religious, he
had honoured as the Lord himself. May his soul repose in the
bosom of Abraham ! Abbot Selid died.
A.D. 1172. Henry, son of king Henry, was crowned at Win
chester, with his consort Margaret, daughter of Louis, king of
France. One Roger, a priest, was struck dead by lightning in
Andover church, in the night of the anniversary of our Lord's
Nativity.
A.D. 1173. Richard, prior of Canterbury, was elected arch
bishop of Canterbury. Richard, archdeacon of Poictou, was elected
in the kalends of May [1st May], bishop of Winchester; as was
also Gaufrid Ridal, to be bishop of Ely; Robert Foliot, to be bishop
of Hereford ; dean John, to be bishop of Chichester ; and Robert,
prior of Winchester, to be abbot of Glastonbury.
A.D. 1174. Richard, and the rest of the bishops elect, men
tioned above, were ordained and consecrated on the second of the
nones of October [6th Oct.].
A.D. 1175. Robert, prior of Winchester, was made abbot of
Westminster ; and Thomas, prior of Bermondsey, abbot of Hyde ;
and the prior of Bermondsey, abbot of Abingdon.
A.D. 1178. The church of Tewkesbury was burnt to ashes. In
the same year died Fromond, abbot of Tewkesbury. William,
abbot of Ramsey, was made abbot of Clugni.
A.D. 1180. Roger, archbishop of York, died. In the same
year, Thomas, abbot of Hyde, resigned his abbey. In the night of
St. Swithun's eve [1st July], the mint in Winchester took fire, and
the fames spreading thence, consumed the greater and better part
of Winchester.
A.D. 1182. St. Barnabas first rendered himself remarkable at
Hyde, by miracles wrought of God, for his deserts ; and then the
church began to be repaired and improved.
A.D. 1184. Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, died; and also
Gerard, bishop of Chester ; and Walter, bishop of Rochester.
Glastonbury was completely burnt down.
A.D. 1185. The patriarch of Jerusalem arrived in England, and
was received with fitting respect at Winchester by a procession, the
king being then present, and nearly all the bishops and abbots of
all England. John, abbot of Hyde, went to Rome, on the busi
ness of the pall of Baldwin, elect of Canterbury. Gilbert de
GLxnville was made bishop of Rochester.
1 Patric, earl of Salisbury, (not bishop, as erroneously described in the text,)
was slain by Qui de Lesiguan. See Dugd. Baron, i. 175.
366 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1186—
A.D. 1186. Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, died.
A.D. 1187. Robert de Melun, from being sub-prior of Win
chester, became abbot of Malmesbury. John, prior of the church
of Winchester, a man of great simplicity, departed to the Lord ; he
was succeeded by Robert, son of Henry.
A.D. 1188. Armed men were brought into the church of Win
chester, who, not fearing to lift their hands against the anointed of
the Lord, dragged forth some of God's servants at the wicked
instigation and command of certain noblemen. In the same year,
Richard, of worthy memory, bishop of Winchester, departed to
the Lord.
A.D. 1189. Lord Godfrid de Lucy obtained the bishopric of
Winchester; and Richard, the treasurer, the bishopric of London ;
and William, the king's chancellor, the bishopric of Ely. Gaufrid
Ridel, bishop of Ely, died.
A.D. 1190. Richard, king of England, set out for Jerusalem,
with Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, and Hubert Walter,
bishop of Salisbury, and Ralph de . . . . l
.... John de Custances, nephew of the archbishop of Rouen,
was made bishop of Worcester.
A.D. 1197. William Longchamp, bishop of Ely, and chancellor
to the king, dying, went the way, which, while living, he had earned
for himself, and was buried at Poictiers, where he expired. He
was a man that was held in high repute for worldly wisdom "and
admirable eloquence, and no one was ever more stedfast in main
taining an attachment once conceived ; and he might have deserved
the appellation of the ' Monks' Friend,' had he not, when once he
bore either sword, by apostolic and royal authority, given way to
the religion of their opponents, seeing that in the great council,
held by him in London, he confirmed, as far as lay in his power,
the ejection of the monks of Coventry.
In Normandy, William, earl of Salisbury, died, and William de
Beau champ, — men highly distinguished for generosity of dis
position, and beneficence of mind, whose untimely death was the
occasion of bitter grief to their relatives and friends. Master
Martin, a monk, sometime prior of Tudford, though not canoni-
cally elected, was, notwithstanding, made abbot of Chertsey, — no
matter who took offence at it, — another abbot still living. While
they were installing him, a rather ominous circumstance occurred;
while the convent met him, according to custom, in procession, an
attendant who was carrying the pall, dropped down at the instant
when the abbot was entering the church ; and no sooner did the
abbot, who was going to officiate, take upon him the dignity of his
abbey, than the minister of the introit felt the avenging blow.
Richard, brother of Hferbert], bishop of Salisbury, was made
dean of Salisbury. Eustachius, chancellor to the king, a man of
great wisdom and judgment, was made bishop of Ely. Peter,
bishop of St. David's, repaired to Risus, king of Wales, beseeching
him, with fatherly affection, not to disturb the peace of God's holy
church, and of his master, the king of England. But the bishop
1 Here a leaf is wanting in the MS.
A.D. 1198.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 367
not only laboured in vain, but was reviled into the bargain ; he
therefore withdrew from court exceedingly exasperated. But the
following night unfaithful children, sent by the king, dragged the
bishop from his couch, with nothing on him but his nightgown and
drawers, till he was rescued by some of the men of William de
Brews. But as soon as it was day, the bishop, having summoned
his archdeacons and the presbyters of the whole diocese, with their
assistance, smote with anathema both the king and the king's sons,
with all his land. So the bishop's curse entered into the inward
parts of the obstinate monarch like water, and like oil into his
bones ; and he died a few days after under the bond of the anathema.
But Griffin, somewhat more tractable than his father, with his
brothers and friends, approached the bishop, entreating him, with
tears, to have pity upon him, and promising that he would yield to
his master the king of England, and to himself, all due submission
and reverence. So the bishop, on condition that the body of the
deceased king, already putrid, should be scourged, and that his
sons should be scourged likewise, and with the assent and autho
rity of the lord archbishop of Canterbury, absolved the deceased,
his sons, and their land.
A. D. 1198. Eustace, the king's chancellor, was consecrated
bishop of Ely, in London, by the archbishop of Canterbury, on the
eighth of the ides of March [8th March] . Hugh de Nunant, bishop of
Chester, fell into ill health. The monks of Coventry were brought
into their church, and Master Jorbert, prior of Wenlock, was made
their prior. The bishop of Salisbury, having been disseized of all
his property by the king's command, passed over to the continent
in the month of February. Lord Godfrid, bishop of Winchester,
crossed the sea on the tenth of the kalends of April [23rd March] ;
he returned to England in the month of June ; and on the six
teenth of the kalends of August [17th July], he landed at Peven-
sey. Gaufrid Fitz- Peter, a man of guileless spirit, and one who
had a singular affection for the church of Winchester, caused the
body of his father, who had been a lay brother of the same place,
to be removed from the burying ground of the monks into the
church, and then to be reentombed with due ceremony, in the
presence of the abbot of Tewkesbury, and the abbot of Hyde, and
many other persons of rank, on the eighth of the ides of May
[8th May].
Simon, the abbot of Pershore, died at Bermondsey, on the fourth
of the ides of May [12th May]. The archbishop of York was
reconciled to the king his brother, through the mediation of God
frid, bishop of Winchester, and the king received him with the
kiss of peace.
Hugh de Nunant, bishop of Chester, after the monks of
Coventry had been brought into his church, out of which they
had been driven by the same bishop, after a lingering illness and
insufferable agony, closed his wretched existence with a death that
he deserved, on the sixth of the kalends of April [27th March],
being Good Friday, and was buried in the church of Bec-
Herlewin.
368 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1198—
Herbert Poor, bishop of Salisbury, having returned from Nor
mandy by the favour of our lord the king, landed in England on the
sixth of the ides of June [8th June]. Walter, prior of Bath, a man
of eminent learning and piety, closed his life in Christ at Werewell.
From being sub -prior of Hyde, he was made prior of Bath, on
account of the excellence of his character for sanctity ; and after he
had minutely instructed the monks in the monastic order, reflecting
within himself how trivial the glory of this world is, how transitory
is human reputation, how empty the title of prelate, choosing
rather to consult his own real profit, than to exercise authority over
others, — betook himself to the Carthusians. When a certain monk
of Hyde came to see him, and, perceiving that he, who a little
while before used to be deeply intent upon the salvation of souls,
was now busy with dishes and herbs, said to him with a sneer,
" My noble father, what you are doing is Kere, what you are
handling is Kerewiwere." But he, coming to himself, after a few
days, and understanding, as well by prayer as by the instruction of
his masters, that it was more holy to save many souls, than only
one, returned to his priorate, and to this he strictly confined him
self till the hour of his death. He was buried at Bath, on the second
of the kalends of June [31st May].
A Lombard Jew lent to the convent, on St. Swithun's Eve
[1st July], ten pounds and one mark. Gaufrid of Muschamp, who
had been archdeacon of Cleveland, was made bishop of Chester,
and was consecrated by archbishop Hubert Walter in the church of
Canterbury on the eleventh of the kalends of July [21st June].
Peter, bishop of St. David's, a man of signal piety, and no less ex
emplary in his conduct than eminent for his cultivated manners, on
the fragile body's earthen vessel being broken, departed this life, to
be clothed in heaven with the robe of immortality by Him, for
whom on earth he had often endured the sorrows of this world.
Master Anselm, a monk of Reading, was made abbot of Per-
shore. Eustace, sacristan of Middleton, was made abbot of the
same church. Richard Fitz -Nigel, sometime bishop of Ely, and
apothecary to king Henry, and at length bishop of London, a man of
venerable and most pious memory and wisdom, whose every word
seemed to every one that he conversed with to distil sweetness,
departed from this world, and left the body tenantless, on the
fourth of the ides of September [10th Sept.]. This most charitable
and compassionate man so far excelled all the men of influence and
business in England, that, in comparison with him, all might be
reputed and were reputed avaricious. Knowing, then, and cherish
ing it in his memory, that nothing is more base, nothing casts
a deeper stain upon the reputation of persons of rank than a stinted
hospitality, this man of most diligent hospitality and beneficence,
whose memory is blessed of heaven, admitted every one to his
table, except such as their own villany or profligate life repelled
from it. In the month of September died John de Custances,
bishop of Worcester.
A. D. 1199. Andrew, abbot of Peterborough, died, and also
Juliana, abbess of Rumesey, in the month of February. King
A.D. 1202.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 369
Richard was transfixed with an arrow at the town of Chaluz, on the
seventh of the kalends of April [26th March], and died on Tuesday,
the eighth of the ides of the same month [6th April], and his body
was buried at the feet of his father, king Henry, at Fontevrault.
It is worthy of observation, that the said king was buried with the
same crown and other insignia of royalty with which he had been
crowned and robed at Winchester.
Master William Pica was elected abbot of Glastonbury. Matilda,
half-sister by the father's side of Walter Walerand, was made
abbess of Rumesey, on the third of the nones of June [3d June].
Hugh, abbot of Reading, was made abbot of Clugni. The church
of Chichester was dedicated by Sefrid, bishop of the same place,
on the second of the ides of September [12th Sept.] King John
was crowned at Westminster on Ascension-day [27th May], being
the sixth of the kalends of June.
A.D. 1200. The tower of the church of Winchester was begun
and finished. In the month of March died Odo, abbot of Battle,
and was succeeded by John of Dover, a monk of Canterbury. In
the same year died William the Simple, abbot of Ramsey ; who
was succeeded by Yvo, prior of Peterborough. In the same
month the prior of St. Alban's, named Acharius, was made abbot
of Peterborough. William Postard, abbot of Westminster, died.
Ralph de Arundel, who had been prior of Herlie, was made abbot
of Westminster. John de Gray, who had been archdeacon of
Oxford, was made bishop of Norwich, and was consecrated, in
London, by archbishop Hubert Walter. In the same year, Gilda,1
son of William de Breus, was consecrated bishop of Hereford.
Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, of pious and sacred memory, who had
been prior of the Carthusians,2 died.
A.D. 1201. About midnight, on the night of the Seven Holy
Sleepers [27th July], a dreadful and but too melancholy quarrel
broke out between two pretended brethren of Hyde and a pair
of abbots of the same place, which resulted in the infliction of
very severe loss and suffering upon many innocent individuals.
A.D. 1202. Godfred de Lucy, lord [bishop] of Winchester, esta
blished, for the repair of the church of Winchester, a brotherhood,
which was to be kept up for full five years. Gaufrid, earl of Perch,
died, and also Alan, abbot of Tewkesbury, who had been prior of Can
terbury. In this year peace and concord were brought about and con
firmed between the lord [archbishop] of Canterbury and the monks
of the same place, by means of arbitrators appointed by the supreme
pontiff, touching a dispute which had been agitated between them
respecting the church of Lambeth, which the lord [archbishop] of
Canterbury had caused to be erected to the prejudice, as it was
thought, of the church of Canterbury. Here is the form : — " We,
Eustace, bishop of Ely, the abbot of St. Edmund's, the dean of
Lincoln, supplying the place of lord H[ugh], bishop of Lincoln,
being chosen arbitrators by the lord archbishop of Canterbury and
the convent, having mutually agreed in due form, have provided
1 Called Giles, in other authorities. See Hardy's Le Neve, i. 458.
2 Namely, at Withram. See Capgrave, Nova Legenda Anglia, fol.183, b,
VOL. IV. B B
370 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1204—
and ordained, for the sake of peace and tranquillity, that if the lord
archbishop of Canterbury shall think proper to build a church at
Lambeth, he may do so in this way: — " Let him build where he
pleases, provided that it be not upon the foundation of that work
which, by the authority of our lord the pope, hath been pulled
down. Let canons be appointed for that church, of the Premon-
stratensian order, provided that they be not more than twenty, nor
fewer than thirteen. This church the lord archbishop may endow
to the amount of one hundred pounds a year out of the churches
to him pertaining, or out of other property which he holds in the
name of the church of Canterbury, except the churches of Monk-
ton, Estrie, Hemesford, and Mepham, and the churches which are
in the manors of the monks, together with other things which have
been brought into question before us. And this church is to be of
moderate dimensions ; to be determined by the aforesaid number
of persons, and the aforesaid endowment ; having regard to ....
the moderate size of the church which the canons of the same
order use. And, for the purpose of removing all ground for
jealousy and offence, we provide that the archbishops shall not hold
ordinations in this church, or councils, or consecrations of bishops,
or benedictions of abbots ; neither shall they consecrate chrism in
it; neither shall the archbishops assemble a congregation of seculars,
or grant endowments out of the property of the church of Canter
bury, without the assent of the convent. The clerks are to retain
the churches, which they now hold, under a yearly rent, so long as
they live ; but on the death of each they are to revert to the church
of Canterbury."
A.D. 1204. On the llth of September, Godfrid de Lucy, bishop
of Winchester, died, as did also queen Eleonor ; and Sefred, bishop
of Chichester.
A.D. 1205. On the sixth of the ides of July [10th July], died Hu
bert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury. Peter de Rupibus was con
secrated bishop of Winchester, at Rome, by pope Innocent the third,
on the Sunday next preceding the feast of St. Michael [25th Sept.].
A.D. 1206. Peter, bishop of Winchester, having returned from
Rome, was received at Winchester by a solemn procession, and was
enthroned on Palm Sundav, the seventh of the ides of April [7th
April].1
A.D. 1207. Master Stephen Langton was consecrated arch
bishop of Canterbury, at Viterbo, by our lord pope Innocent, on the
fifteenth of the kalends of July [17th June]. Henry, son of king John
by queen Isabella, born at Winchester, on the kalends of October
[1st Oct.], in this year; he was named Henry, after his grandfather.
A.D. 1209. Queen Isabella was delivered of a son, named
Richard, on the day of the feast of the Epiphany [6th Jan.].
A.D. 1213. King John was absolved by Pandulf, legate of our
lord the pope, on St. Margaret's day [20th July], at Winchester;
the interdict continuing nevertheless.
A.D. 1216. Louis landed in the Isle of Thanet on the Saturday
1 In the year 1206, the 7th of April fell upon a Saturday ; the true date is the
7th of the kalends of April [26th March]. See Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 8.
A.D. 1232.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER, 371
after Ascension-day [21st May]. King John fled, although he
might have stood his ground with ease. On Whitsun-eve [28th
May], John arrived at Winchester, with Galas, the legate. On
Whitmonday [30th May], that is, in the second day of the week
after the arrival of Louis, the king retired, with Peter, bishop of
Winchester, who on Whitsunday [29th May], had excommuni
cated Louis and all his followers. But the king committed the
castle of Winchester to Savaric de Maulyon, to guard it along
with the city ; but he, immediately after the king's departure, set
the suburbs on fire, and withdrew. Louis laid siege to the castle,
which, after many days, surrendered to him by the advice of the said
Savaric; and he soon afterwards took the rest of the castles of
Hampshire. John died at Newark, on the fourteenth of the kalends
of November [19th Oct.]; and his body was buried at Worcester.
His son Henry was crowned at Gloucester, in the tenth year of his
age, on the day of St. Simon and St. Jude the Apostles [28th Oct.],
by Gales, the legate, and many others.
A.D. 1217. Richard, bishop of Chichester, was translated to
Salisbury.
A.D. 1221. Peter, bishop of Winchester, went to St. James's.1
The same bishop took the cross.
A.D. 1222. Ranulf, bishop of Chichester, died, and was suc
ceeded by Ralph of Newtown. John [abbot] of Hyde, died, and
was succeeded by Walter, a monk of the same church.
A.D. 1224. Peter, bishop of Winchester, in full synod, excom
municated the disturbers and insurgents against the rights of the
church. The church of Montesfont was dedicated.
A.D. 1227. Peter, bishop of Winchester, and William, bishop
of Exeter, set out on their way to the Holy Land.
A.D. 1228. Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, died on the nones
of July [7th July]. Richard, bishop of Salisbury, was made bishop
of Durham. Walter, a monk of Canterbury, was elected archbishop.
A.D. 1229. Robert Byngham was made bishop of Salisbury.
Richard, chancellor of Lincoln, was made archbishop of Canter
bury.
A.D. 1230. King Henry returned to England; and, after the
feast of All Saints [1st Nov.], he was received, in solemn proces
sion, by the convent in the greater church of Winchester, in the
presence of Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, with some of his
suffragans.
A.D. 1231. Roger, archdeacon of Winchester, died, while on a
pilgrimage. The church of St. Giles, at Winchester, was burnt
down. Peter, bishop of Winchester, on his return from the Holy
Land, was received in his church on the day of St. Peter ad
Vincula [1st Aug.], and offered one of the feet of St. Philip.
A.D. 1232. King Henry entrusted to the safe keeping of Peter,
bishop of Winchester, and of Peter de Rywalles, several shires and
castles, and also his treasury. Master John Blundus was elected
archbishop of Canterbury, but he was set aside by our lord the
pope. A lad named Stephen was tortured and murdered by the
1 At Compostella.
B B 2
372 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1233—
Jews at Winchester, on the sixteenth of the kalends of November
[17th Oct.].
A.D. 1233. Master Edmund, treasurer of Salisbury, was elected
archbishop of Canterbury, and confirmed by the pope.
A.D. 1234. Master Edmund was consecrated archbishop of
Canterbury on the fourth of the nones of April [2nd April]. A
quarrel broke out between king Henry and Peter, bishop of Win
chester, and Peter de Ryvallis. An embargo was laid upon them
at Dover; and on the eve of the Apostles Peter and Paul [28th June],
they came to Winchester. On the anniversary of the Deposition of
St. Swithun [2nd July], Richard Syward, and several others, arrived
to search for Peter de Ryvallis ; and when they had looked for him
in vain, they forcibly led off the horses belonging to the bishop and
the prior. But the bishop excommunicated those assailants, and
laid the church and the whole city under an interdict. But in the
morning they expressed their penitence, and were absolved. On
the following day the church and city were reconciled. Peter,
bishop of Winchester, set out for Rome on the day after Ash-
Wednesday [22d Feb.] : he crossed the sea on the fourth of the
nones of March [4th March]. In the same month, on St. Cuth-
bert's day [20th March], the said bishop Peter and the monks of
St. Swithun were reconciled by the interposition of W. the Official
and master R. Stamford.
A.D. 1235. Robert Grosseteste was made bishop of Lincoln,
on the fifteenth of the kalends of July [1 7th June].
A.D. 1236. Peter, bishop of Winchester, returned from Rome,
and arrived at Winchester on St. Andrew's day [30th Nov.]. A
whale was caught at Molebrok in the month of September, and
was declared, in the presence of the king, to belong to the prior
and convent.
A.D. 1238. Peter, bishop of Winchester, died, on the fifth of the
ides of July [llth July], Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury,
returning from Rome, arrived in England in the month of Fe
bruary.
A.D. 1239. Edward, the eldest son of king Henry and queen
Eleonor, was born in London, on the fourteenth of the kalends of July
[18th June]. William Ralye is consecrated, in London, by arch
bishop Edmond. Otto, the legate, laid the church of Winchester
under an interdict, because he was not allowed to see its treasure.
A.D. 1240. The postulation of William Raleye, bishop of
Norwich, against the bishop of Winchester, occurred on the sixth
of the ides of June [8th June]. St. Edmund passed over to the
continent, because he could not perform his duty, by reason of the
king and Otto, the legate. He died at Pounteiiy on the eleventh
of the kalends of September [22nd August], and his body was
buried in the abbey Pounteny.
A.D. 1241. The shrine of St. Swithun was broken by the vane
falling from the tower. The relics of the same saint were exhibited
on the sixteenth of the kalends of June [17th May]. Master
Nicholas de Fanham was consecrated bishop of Durham on the
fifth of the ides of June [9th June]. Gilbert, the Mareshal, died,
A.D. 1247.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 373
on the fifth of the kalends of July [27th June]. Walter, his
brother, was made earl of Pembroke.
A.D. 1242. King Henry and queen Eleonor arrived at Winches
ter on the fifth of the kalends of May [27th April]. On the day of
the Apostles Philip and James [1st May], the queen came to the
chapter of Winchester to be admitted into that society. On the
day of the Translation of St. Nicolas [9th May], the king and
queen, earl Richard, the king's brother, and R., the Mareshal, put to
sea at Portsmouth for Gascony.
A.D. 1243. The king, returning from Gascony, landed at Ports
mouth on the seventh of the kalends of October [25th Sept.], and
arrived at Winchester on St. Michael's-eve [28th Sept.]. On the
day of the Apostles Peter and Paul [29th June], William Raleye was
translated to the bishopric of Winchester, and confirmed ; and on
Christmas-eve [24th Dec.], he arrived at Winchester, but was not
permitted to enter. He then came, bare-footed, to each of the
gates of the city, which, by the king's orders, were shut against
him. On seeing this he retired ; and on the day after the feast of
St. Thomas the Martyr [29th Dec.], he came to the gate of
Kyngate, preaching to the people the word of God. After sermon
he placed the mother church, and the rest of the churches within the
city walls, under an interdict, and excommunicated the monks, and
clerks, and aldermen of the city, and all its bailiffs. Then he crossed
the sea on the ninth of the kalends of March [21st Feb.], because
certain persons had plotted against him. Boniface was admitted
to the see of Canterbury, and was confirmed by the pope on the
day of the Nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary [8th Sept.].
A.D. 1244. The archbishop elect of Canterbury arrived in
England on the feast of St. Gregory [12th March]. William,
bishop of Winchester, by the king's orders, returned to England,
and the king gave him the kiss of peace. The interdict was
removed from the church of Winchester on the day of the
Beheading of John the Baptist [29th August], and the same bishop,
William, was put in possession of his bishopric. Roger, precentor
of Salisbury, was consecrated bishop of Bath, on the third of the
ides of September [llth Sept.], by William, bishop of Winchester ;
and Fulco Basset was consecrated bishop of London, in London,
by the said William. Queen Eleonor was delivered of a son,
named Edmund, on the seventeenth of the kalends of February
[16th Jan.].
A.D. 1245. Bishop William, of Winchester, returned from the
council of Lyons : he arrived at Winchester on the tenth of the
kalends of July [22nd June]. A certain privilege was restored to
the monks of Winchester, which had been surreptitiously taken
from them by bishop William.
A.D. 1246. The dedication of the church Beau-lieu Regis, on
the fifteenth of the kalends of July [17th June], by William, bishop
of Winchester. King Henry held a grand conference at Win
chester, on the ides of July [15th July], at which he gave the
countess of Warenn seizen of the mareschal's staff of office.
A.D. 1247. Walter, prior of Winchester, resigned his priorate
374 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1248—
on the third of the nones of April [3d April], and he was suc
ceeded by John de Calceto. William of York is consecrated
bishop of Salisbury, on the second of the ides of -July [14th July],
by Fulco, bishop of London. The king spent Christmas at Win
chester. Roger, bishop of Bath, died.
A.D. 1248. A new coinage was issued at Winchester after the
octave of the Epiphany [13th Jan.]. Walter, Abbot of Hyde,
died, and was succeeded by Roger of St. Waleric. On the fifth of
the kalends of June [28th May] — Ascension-day — the vane of the
tower of St. Swithun fell, while the vesper bell was ringing, and
nearly crushed a monk. The justices itinerant were at Winchester
on the day after the feast of St. Hilary [14th Jan.], namely —
Henry of Bath, Roger of Cobham, William of Winchester, and
Roger of Cerne. Nicholas, bishop of Durham, resigned his
bishopric on the day of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary
[2d Feb.].
A.D. 1249. The king kept his Whitsuntide [23d May] at Win
chester. Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, landed in England
on the day of St. Matthew the Apostle [21st Sept.] ; and on the
same day a general chapter was assembled at Exeter, but was
adjourned to the feast of pope St. Calixtus in London [14th Oct.],
because all the prelates had not then assembled at Exeter. Boni
face was enthroned at Canterbury on the feast of All Saints [1st
Nov.]. The king spent his Christmas at Winchester; and Boniface,
archbishop of Canterbury, celebrated mass, at which the king made
his foes in Gascony his tributaries. John de Calceto, prior of
Winchester, was made abbot of Bury, and was succeeded by William
of Taunton, on the day of St. Scholastica the Virgin [10th Feb.].
William, bishop of Winchester, and the bishop of Lincoln, and
several others, passed over to the continent after Midlent [6th
March] .
A.D. 1250. A sharp dissension arose between Boniface, arch
bishop of Canterbury, on the one part, and Fulco, of London, and
the canons of St. Paul, on the other, touching the holding of a
visitation in that church. William, bishop of Winchester, died at
Tours, and was buried there, in the church of St. Martin, the
first of September. Adomar, the brother of the king of England,
was elected to the bishopric of Winchester, on the second of the
nones of November [4th Nov.], and was confirmed by our lord the
pope on the nineteenth of the kalends of February [14th Jan.].
King Henry kept his Christmas at Winchester.
A.D. 1251. King Henry spent Whitsunday [4th June] at Win
chester. Lord Adomar, bishop elect of Winchester, landed in
England, at Dover, on the Nativity of John Baptist [24th June] ;
and on the day after the feast of Mary Magdalen [23d July], he
came to Winchester, where he was met by a grand procession, the
king being present, and many others. The dedication of earl
Richard's church of Heyles on the nones of November [5th Nov.].
A.D. 1252. After the" octave of Easter [7th April], a definitive
judgment was pronounced by the pope in favour of lord Boniface,
archbishop of Canterbury, against the bishop and canons of Lon-
A.D. 1256.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 375
don, touching the holding of a visitation in that church, and in all
the churches of his province. King Henry kept his Christmas at
Winchester. Master Richard de Wyce, bishop of Chichester, died
on the sixth of the ides of April [8th April], and was succeeded
by John, surnamed Bishop, a canon of the said church. A great
dissension arose between Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, and
Adomar, bishop elect of Winchester, touching the advowson of the
hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr, in Southwark; but at last they
were reconciled.
A.D. 1253. At the feast of the Holy Trinity, which occurred on
the seventeenth of the kalends of July [loth June], Henry, king of
England, was at Winchester, whence he set out for Portsmouth, to
cross the sea to Gascony. There was a convocation of all the abbots
and priors of the black order at Exeter, on the morrow of the feast of
St. Matthew the Apostle [22d Sept.], on account of a certain privi
lege that had been granted by our lord the pope to all the bishops
of England, to the prejudice of the monastic order. Robert Grosse-
teste, bishop of Lincoln, died, on the fourth of the nones of October
[4th Oct.], and was succeeded by Henry of Lexington, canon and
dean of the same church, by election, on the sixteenth of the kalends
of June [17th May]. Also Hugh de Rupibus, archdeacon of Win
chester, died. There also arose a violent dissension between the
monks of Winchester, and Adomar, elect of Winchester. Where
upon William of Taunton, prior, crossed the sea to visit the pope.
A.D. 1254. The queen arrived at Winchester on Whitsun-eve
[30th May], and on Friday [5th June], she set out for Portsmouth,
for the purpose of embarking for Gascony, with her eldest son
Edward, to join the king. Henry of Lexington was consecrated
bishop of Lincoln on the Sunday after Ascension-day [24th May],
in London, by Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury. Hugh, bishop
of Ely, sometime abbot of St. Edmund's, died; and was succeeded
by master William of Kilkenny, chancellor to our lord the king.
William, prior of Winchester, arrived in Rome, to whom pope
Innocent had given, before his decease, with the assent of the bre
thren, the ring, mitre, staff, and other symbols of dignity. The
reason why he went to the court of Rome was, because Adomar,
bishop elect, had deprived him of his priorate, and the rest of the
obedientiaries of their obediences, because they refused to render
an account of the property of the church of Wulvensy, before the
bishop's adherents, as had been the custom theretofore.
A.D. 1255. Walter de Gray, archbishop of York, died. Our
lord the king wished to reconcile Adomar, bishop elect, and the
monks of Winchester ; but the convent hoped to obtain a more
desirable peace through our lord the pope. They therefore declined
a reconciliation ; and in this, as it turned out, they acted wisely.
A.D. 1256. Adomar, bishop elect, and the monks of Winchester,
were reconciled. Master Giles, of Bridport, was elected bishop of
Salisbury, and was confirmed by our lord the pope, and consecrated
by lord Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, on the fifth of the ides
of March [1 1th March] l. Master Sew all, archbishop elect of York,
1 That is, A.D. 1257.
376 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1257—
was consecrated, on the tenth of the kalends of August [23d July],
in his church at York. The abbot of Middleton died, and was
succeeded by William of Tuanton, sometime prior of Winchester,
who had mortgaged the church of Winchester to the Kaurcins for
seven thousand marks, on account of a suit at law between Adorn ar,
bishop elect, and the monks of Winchester. Wherefore the said
Adomar, the bishop elect, paid over to the said Kaurcins, for the
said monks four . . . . * marks, on one day, in London ; for the
moiety of which the convent of Winchester, with common consent
and approbation, granted to the said elect, and to his successors
for ever, the isle of Portland, together with the members of
" Waynnie, Wylarum, and Helewell ;" and this was confirmed both
by the pope and the king. Justices in Eyre, of whom R. Wallerand
was chief, sat at Winchester after the feast of St. Hilary [13th Jan.].
Adomar, bishop elect of Winchester, crossed the sea to his own
country, on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul [25th Jan.],
and returned on the Sunday next following the festival of the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross [17th Sept.].
A. D. 1 257. On the octave of the Assumption of the blessed Virgin
Mary [22d Aug.], there was a convocation in London of all the
bishops, before Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, to take into con
sideration the condition of the Church of England. The business
was cut short in consequence of the war which the king was carrying
on in "\\fales. The bishop of Exeter died, and was succeeded, in
the month of February, by master Walter, archdeacon of Surrey.
A.D. 1258. The king spent Whitsunday [llth May] at Win
chester, and thence proceeded to Woodstock. There was a convo
cation of the earls, and barons, and all the nobles of England, in
parliament, at Exeter ; and coming thence to Winchester, about the
feast of the Deposition of St. Swithun [2d July], they remained
there till after the Translation of St. Benedict [llth July]. Then
William of Valence, Geoffrey, and Guy, his brothers, went into
banishment ; and Adomar, the bishop elect, their brother, forced
by the cruelty and seventy of the barons, was obliged to make his
choice, either to go to prison, with one of his brothers aforesaid,
according to the will of the barons, or, with his other brothers, to
depart from the kingdom as an exile. On hearing these conditions,
he (dreading a sedition of the barons) chose rather to cross the
sea with the persons forementioned.
There broke out also at this time a dissension between our lord
the king and his son Edward ; but they were reconciled in the
chapter of St. Swithun, at Winchester. About this time the abbot
of Westminster died at Winchester. Andrew, of London, whom
the said bishop elect had made prior of Winchester, resigned his
priorate, on the fourth of the ides of July [12th July]; and on the
same day, by a compromise, he was again elected prior, in conse
quence of the threats of Richard, earl of Gloucester, and other
noblemen. The dedication of the church of Salisbury was on the
third of the kalends of October [29th Sept.]. There was a con
vocation of all the nobles of England in London, on the feast of the
1 Blank in Wharton's text.
A.D. 1261.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 377
Translation of St. Edward [13th Oct.]. While the said Adomar,
bishop elect, was still alive, and residing at the court of Rome for
the purpose of defending his rights, the monks of Winchester chose
Henry of Wengham, bishop of Winchester, on the fifth of the
nones of January [1st Jan.], by form of compromise. In the
octave of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary [9th Feb.],
there was a convocation of all the bishops and abbots of England,
in London, before the archbishop of Canterbury and the nobles of
England ; and the parliament lasted till Lent.1
A.D. 1259. Lord Hugh Bigot, Gilbert of Preston, and Robert
Wallerand, justiciaries, came to Winchester, on the tenth of the
kalends of June [23d May], when Walter of Scoteneye was torn
to pieces by horses for the murder of W. de Clare, and was after
wards hung upon a gibbet. Henry de Wengham was elected bishop
of London.
A.D. 1260. The king came to Winchester, on the eighth of the
kalends of September [25th Aug.], and was met by a solemn pro
cession. John de Calceto, abbot of Bury, was made treasurer of
England. The aforesaid Adomar, bishop elect of Winchester, who
had been consecrated bishop of Winchester, by our lord pope
Alexander, died at Paris, on the eve of the feast of St. Nicolas,
that is, on the fourth of December.2 The church of St. Swithun,
at Winchester, was laid under an interdict on the eve of the
Epiphany [5th Jan.],3 by Alberic, the notary of our lord the pope;
but the interdict was removed on the eve of the festival of the
Conversion of St. Paul [24th Jan.]. On the day after the feast of
the Purification [3d Feb.], an election of a bishop took place at
Winchester ; when fifty monks of the convent, and Oliver de Tracy,
acting for the archdeacon of Surrey (master P[eter] de S. Omers,
archdeacon of Surrey, was at that time at the court of Rome in
defence of his rights, as he had been driven out by the secular
power), chose, for bishop, William de Taunton, abbot of Middleton;
while seven other monks of that convent chose Andrew of London
their prior. This election was afterwards annulled by the pope;
as we shall see presently.
A.D. 1261. Andrew, prior of St. Swithun's, by a certain sub
mission made before Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, resigned
his priorate. He appealed to the pope touching that matter, and
the business of the election, and he despatched special messengers
to the court of Rome, with many gifts, but all to no purpose.
John, bishop of Chichester, died ; and was succeeded by master
Stephen, the poorest of the canons, who, as is reported, was elected
out of spite to some of them. On the fourteenth of the kalends of
April [19th March], the heart of Adomar, late bishop of Win
chester, was carried to Winchester, and was buried, with fitting
reverence, near the high altar ; on this occasion many miracles
shone forth.
. • 1 Ash-Wednesday fell upon the 26th of February, in 1259.
2 The eve of St. Nicolas falls on the fifth of December, but the true date is that
stated in the text, namely, the fourth of December, as is proved by the Patent
Roll, quoted in Hardy's Le Neve, iii. 9. 3 A.D. 12t>l.
378 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1262—
A.D. 1262. Richard, earl of Gloucester, died, and was buried at
Tewkesbury. St. Richard, bishop of Chichester, was canonized.
The election at Winchester having been set aside ; not for anything
amiss in the individual, but upon some other pretext, master John
of Exeter, chancellor of York, residing at the court of Rome, was
consecrated bishop of Winchester. Giles, bishop of Salisbury,
died ; and Walter Wyle, sub-dean of the church of Salisbury, was
elected ; it is said that envy had some share in this transaction.
Andrew, prior of Winchester, having, against his will, resigned
his priorate, through John the bishop, was committed to prison at
Hyde, on account of his bad behaviour. Escaping thence by cun
ning and knavery, he trumped up such an artful story, that, for the
merits of St. Thomas the Martyr, he was set free from fetters and
from prison. In proof of which, the very links of his chain, pre
sented by himself, along with an inscription, are kept at Canter
bury by way of sport, for no one can affirm that there is anything
miraculous in it. John de Chauce, abbot of Bury, treasurer of
England, died.
A.D. 1263. After Easter [1st April], N. de Tracy, W. Bonquer,
William of Englesfield, and Adam de Granville, justices in Eyre,
sat at Winchester, plotting among themselves, and not attending
to the king's affairs, but to their own. Andrew, prior of Win
chester, went to the court of Rome. Roger of St. Walleric, abbot
of Hyde, died. The people of Winchester made an attack upon
their own townsmen and upon their neighbours, seizing the property
of both clergy and laity, within and without the walls, and forcing
contributions from them, masking their villany under pretence of
asserting the rights of the king.
A.D. 1264. On the fourth of the nones of May [4th May], the
men of Winchester rose in a body against the prior and convent of
St. Swithun, and completely burnt the gate of the priory, and the
gate called Kingate, with the church of St. Swithun, together with
all the buildings and property belonging to the prior and convent
near the wall ; they also cruelly murdered some persons belonging
to the priory within the boundary wall of the monastery. On the
fourth of the nones of September [2d Sept.], master [Robert] l de
Karvilla, treasurer of Salisbury, died.
A.D. 1265. Ralph, prior of Winchester, died, on the eighth of
the ides of July [8th July], and was succeeded, on the twelfth of
the kalends of August [21st July], by Valentine, a monk of the
same church. The city of Winchester was taken by Simon de
Montfort, the younger, on the seventeenth of the kalends of
August [16th July]. Agnes, abbess of Winchester, died, on
the third of the kalends of September [30th Aug.]. King Henry
came to Winchester, on the third of the ides of September [llth
Sept.] ; on which day Euphemia, a nun of that church, was elected
abbess, and was received by the king on the same day. The church
of Winchester was laid under an interdict, on the eve of the feast of
St. Nicolas [5th Dec.] ; and on the fourth day afterwards the inter
dict was renewed. On the seventeenth of the kalends of January
1 See Hardy's Le Kove, ii. 645.
A.D. 1268.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 379
[16th Dec.], the city of Winchester, within and without the walls,
was laid under an interdict, on account of the attack of Simon de
Montford, the younger, and on the eve of the feast of St. Thomas
the Apostle [20th Dec.] that interdict was renewed.
A.D. 1266. Walter de Cantilupe, died ; and likewise the bishops
of Worcester and Norwich. In the same year the bishops of
London and Chichester were suspended from their office and
emoluments by the lord Ottobonus, who, after they had appealed,
crossed the sea. In like manner, lord John, bishop of Winchester,
who had been suspended at the same time, set out for Rome.
Master Nicolas of Ely was elected bishop of Worcester, and was
consecrated on the Sunday next preceding the feast of St. Michael
[26th Sept.], Master Walter Giffard, postulated to the arch
bishopric of York from the bishopric of Bath, was confirmed by
our lord the pope.
A.D. 1267. On the fourth of the nones of August [4th Aug.],
my lord the legate arrived at Winchester, and was received by a
solemn procession. On the feast of St. Oswald, king and martyr
[5th Aug], he visited the church of St. Swithun. On the seventh
of the ides of August [7th Aug.], he visited the priory, which
Valentine had previously resigned ; he likewise appointed wardens
of the priory, and to them he consigned the entire care of it. The
said legate then set out for Wales, to effect a reconciliation between
the prince of Wales and the king. On the nineteenth of the
kalends of August [14th July], lord Edward arrived at Winchester ;
and departing thence for the Isle of Wight, he took it, and delivered
it up to the safe keeping of his followers. On the third of the
kalends of November [30th Oct.], our lord the king arrived at
Winchester, and was received by a solemn procession. On the
fifth of the ides of December [9th Dec.] , the legate arrived at
Winchester, and took up his quarters at Hyde abbey ; and, after
spending Christmas there with our lord the king, he went away
early on the morning of the fifth day — which was the feast of St.
Thomas the Martyr [29th Dec.], and laid the said abbey of Hyde arid
the church under an interdict, on account of a fight that had taken
place between the men of the said legate and the men of the abbey ;
which interdict continued for four weeks.
A. D. 1268. John, bishop of Winchester, died, on the thirteenth
of the kalends of February [20th Jan.], at the Roman court at
Viterbo ; Nicolas of Ely, bishop of Worcester, succeeded him, on
the sixth of the kalends of March [24th Feb.], and was ordained by
our lord, pope Clement. On the day after the feast of the Apostles
Philip and James [2d May], he was accepted by the king ; and on
the sixth of the kalends of June [27th May], he was met at Win
chester by our lord the king, in solemn procession ; and, after being
enthroned, he solemnly celebrated mass. On the nineteenth of the
kalends of May [13th April], the lord legate held a council at the
church of St. Paul, in London, when he commanded various con
stitutions and statutes to be observed. At the desire of the lord
legate, Valentine was restored to his priorate at Winchester, on the
day after the anniversary of the Deposition of St. Swithun [3d
380 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1269—
July]; the injunctions of the legate remaining in full force notwith
standing. Master Godfred Giffard, chancellor of our lord the
king, having been elected bishop of Worcester, was received by our
lord the king, and was confirmed by the archbishop. On the
eighteenth of the kalends of November [15th Oct.], our lord the
king held his parliament at Winchester, where he appointed his son
Edward to be seneschal of England : there, too, the king kept his
Christmas, and appointed the said Edward warden of London and
of all his castles in England.
A.D. 1269. On the third of the nones of June [3d June], John
Breton was consecrated bishop of Hereford at Waverley, by lord
Nicolas, bishop of Winchester. On the ninth of the kalends of
September [24th Aug.], lord Richard, king of Almaine, on his
return, landed, and came to Winchester. On the day after the
feast of St. Michael [30th Sept.], the justices of the Forest, namely,
lord R. de Clifford and his companions, coming to Winchester,
sate there till the feast of All Saints [1st Nov.]. In the meanwhile
other inquisitors also arrived, to hold investigations touching cases
of felony and treason committed in the county against our lord the
king. The body of St. Edward the king was removed from the
old shrine into a new one, in the presence of king Henry, who,
according to his decree, had arranged to carry the crown ; but he
did not do so.
A.D. 1270. A parliament of all the peers of the kingdom was
held on the quinzaine of Easter,1 to deliberate respecting the
twentieths, and respecting the journey of the Crusaders — that is to
say, of lord Edward, and other grandees of the realm. After a long
debate, they all agreed at last to place themselves at the disposal of
lord Richard, king of Almaine, so that they would all abide by his
decision. In this decision, however, Gilbert, earl of Gloucester,
and several others, did not concur. Whereupon the business was
postponed till after the octave of St. John the Baptist [1st July].
After the octave of St. John the Baptist [1st July], nearly all the
peers assembled in London to treat about the matters aforesaid.
In the meantime, a personal combat took place between J. earl of
Warren and Alan la Zouche, before the justices of the king's -
bench in London ; when the said Alan received a mortal wound,
of which he afterwards died. And the said earl of Warren having,
on the Sunday after the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula [3d Aug.] , at
Winchester, averred, on the oath of twenty-five knights, that he had
not committed that act out of malice aforethought, nor in contempt
of our lord the king, was reconciled to our lord the king upon the
payment of twelve hundred marks. Lord Edward was at the castle
of Winchester; he craved the king's permission to sail over to the
continent, on his way to the Holy Land ; and he came to the
chapter, on the nones of August [5th Aug.], and received licence
from the convent, humbly beseeching them to pray for him ; and
along with him were R. de Valentia, loid Thomas de Clare, lord
Roger de Clifford, and several others. But, altering their minds,
they went to Canterbury, and set sail from Dover, on the thirteenth
1 From the 6th of April to the 20th, both included.
A.D, 1273.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 381
of the kalends of August [20th July].1 Our lord the king kept his
Christmas in the castle of Winchester ; and on the day after the
feast of St. Thomas the Martyr [30th Dec.], he set out thence for
London.
A. D. 1271. On the fifth of the kalends of August [28th July],
the justices — lord W. de Wyntershille and others — sat at Win
chester for gaol delivery, and for inquiry into other matters. On the
third of the nones of January [3d Jan.], Walter de la Wyle, bishop
of Salisbury, died, and was succeeded by Robert de Weychamton,
dean of Salisbury, on the seventh of the kalends of March [27th
Feb.]. In the second week of Lent [1 — 8th March], Nicolas,
lord bishop of Winchester, held his visitation in the church of
Winchester, and at Hide in the third week [8 — 15th March], and
at St. Mary's abbey in the fourth week [15 — 22d March], and so
on throughout his diocese. In the second week of Lent [1 — 8th
March], there was a convocation of the bishops at Reading, to
deliberate respecting the jurisdiction of the church of Canterbury,
— whether they, the bishops, owed obedience to the chapter of
Canterbury, or not. After the interlocutions, the monks of Canter
bury appealed to the apostolic see, that nothing may be done to
the prejudice of their church.
A. D. 1272. Our lord the king took his departure from Win
chester after the Epiphany [6th Jan.], because the justices in Eyre
were to sit there.
A.D. 1273. On the demise of the illustrious king Henry the
Third, an assembly having been summoned at Westminster, after
the feast of St. Hilary [13th Jan.], of all the prelates of England,
and the other grandees of the realm ; the archbishops and bishops,
the earls and barons, the abbots and priors, four knights from each
shire, and four from each borough, met together. All of these, in
the presence of the lords Walter, archbishop of York, Roger de Mor
timer, Robert Burnel, then bishop elect of Bath, who administered
the government of England in the room of our lord Edward, king
of England, took the oath to the said lord Edward as supreme
ruler of the land, and also received the injunction respecting the
loyal and stedfast maintenance of the peace of the realm. On this oc
casion Walter de Merton was appointed chancellor, and was ordered
to stay at Westminster, as in a public post, until the arrival of the
prince. It was then also resolved that there should be no justices
itinerant until the prince arrived, but only in the king's bench.
During this convocation, there arrived in London two nuncios from
our lord the pope, who exhibited a request, addressed to the clergy
of the kingdom, to this effect — that they would grant to the lord
Edward and his brother, for two years, a tenth of all their ecclesi
astical property, for their losses and charges in the Holy Land ;
and upon this point they produced and exhibited certain articles of
apostolic authority, touching which they were to institute an
inquiry.
1 This is the date given by the Annals of Winchester ; those of Worcester fix
the date of their departure on the fourteenth of the kalends of September [19th
August.]
382 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A. D. 1274—
A. D. 1274. Andrew, who had been some time prior of Win
chester, having returned from the court of Rome, came to
Winchester, on the sixth of the kalends of February [27th Jan.],
with a strong and numerous body of armed men ; and, sentinels
having been placed by the bishop of Winchester in the church of
St. Swithun, to prevent him from entering, on the third day he
and his party made an attack, in order to possess himself, by
violence, of the said priorate. Whereupon the lord bishop, having,
by means of the preaching friars, asked for a truce till the following
day, in order that he might more carefully consider the matter,
called his adherents together from all quarters, and barricaded the
church. Whereupon the said Andrew, seeing that he could not
accomplish his design, withdrew early in the morning of the second
of the kalends of February [31st Jan.]. But the bishop, having
summoned all the clergy of the city to the chapter of St. Swithun's,
excommunicated, and caused them to excommunicate, the said
Andrew and all the monks of the same monastery who had given
advice or aid to the said Andrew in so insolent an act. The same
day he also laid the city of Winchester under an interdict ; seven
days after [7th Feb.], having made inquiry, by means of the
townspeople, respecting those who had given advice and aid to the
said Andrew at the time of the forementioned assault, the said
bishop, at the pressing entreaty of many trustworthy persons,
removed the interdict. But when this uproar, having spread far
and wide, came to the ears of our lord the king by means of twenty-
four jurates of the city, who declared that they could not govern
the city nor keep it quiet, by reason of the violence and numbers
of those disturbers of the peace, — our lord the king sent lord Roger
de Mortimer and Nicolas Stapleton, justiciaries, to Winchester, to
make diligent inquiry touching the matters aforesaid ; whereupon
many guilty persons were apprehended and imprisoned, but some
secretly effected their escape. There was a certain archdeacon of
Rochester, who had come to Winchester, as a judge in the cause
of the said Andrew, and had spent some time there ; when he
refused to answer to seven articles that were brought against him
by Roger de Mortimer, in which he was alleged to have acted
against the peace of the realm, he was carried, as a disturber of the
peace and a contemner of the king's majesty, to the castle at
Winchester, and there detained for many days. Being set free at
last, by letters of our lord the king, through the intervention of
the bishops and several of the clergy, he returned home, and died1
a few days afterwards.
In the same year, Robert, archbishop of Canterbury, taking
his journey, on account of his visitation, through the diocese of
Winchester, arrived at Winchester on the day after the feast of
St. Catherine [26th Dec.], and there he was received with due
respect, in procession, by the bishop of the place, and by the clergy
and people. On the third and fourth days following, he held his
visitation in the priory of St. Swithun, and on the fifth day in the
1 Apparently this individual was William de S. Martin, who died in 1274. See
Le Neve, ii. 580.
A.D. 1276.] ANNALS OF THE CHURCH OF WINCHESTER. 383
abbey of the nuns of the blessed Virgin Mary in the same place, and
on the third of the nones of December [3d Dec.], in the abbey of
Hyde. Proceeding thence through other monasteries of the same
diocese, he kept the festival of the Nativity of our Lord at Byterne,
a manor of the bishop of Winchester, near Southampton.
A.D. 1275. On the eighteenth of the kalends of April [15th
March], Eleonor, queen to our lord Edward, king of England,
gave birth, at Windsor, to a daughter, named Isabella. In the
same year, on the eve of St. Catherine the Virgin [24th Dec.], the
lady Eleonor, queen of England, gave birth to a son, at Bayonne,
in Gascony ; and he was baptized by Walter, bishop of Exeter,
and named Alfonsus, after the king of Spain, who bare him from
the sacred font; and he was confirmed by the archbishop Auxican
[of Ausch].1
A.D. 1276. As the quarrel among the citizens of Winchester,
which had begun many years ago, still continued, and their
dissensions were made known to our lord the king, our lord the
king gave orders and injunctions that they should be at unity with
each other, that he might hear no more complaints about this
matter. On this occasion, too, he checked his dissatisfaction, and
permitted them to retain, in their original condition, all that
appertained to the city. He then set out for Lutgershall and
Marlborough, on the seventh of the kalends of February [26th
Jan.]. On the day after, certain persons assembled, on the part
of the king, and reestablished harmony among them. Whereupon
they elected their mayor, and provosts ; and appointed bailiffs, as
they had been accustomed to do.
In the same year a dissension arose between the monks of St.
Swithun's, at Winchester, and Nicolas, bishop of the same place,
because nearly all the members of the convent took part with
Andrew, the former prior, and strove to get him appointed to that
office. Valentine, who was at that time prior, yielding to bad
advice, voluntarily gave way, and resigned his priorate. Upon
which the said bishop took into his own hands the manors of the
priory, about the feast of St. Dunstan [19th May], and kept them
until the first of August: he also removed Alexander, the sub-prior,
from his office, and several others from their situations, and made
Gilbert de Froylle, a monk, sub-prior. At length, when certain
persons, on the part of the king, came to Winchester, together
with the dean of Salisbury and a certain knight, with a view to re
establish concord between the parties, the said bishop, at their
recommendation, restored the said Valentine to his former post in
the priory, at Merton, on the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula [1st
August] ; and appointed afresh two officers — an infirmary-keeper,
and a superintendent of the anniversaries. But, in process of time,
the said lord bishop, wishing to exercise the power, and to practise
the customs, of his predecessors, utterly deprived the said Valentine
of his priorate ; not, however, without reason (so it was said) ;
and created, instituted, and enstalled, by his officer, on the third of
the nones of December [3d Dec.], in the same year, John de
1 This was Amanevus de Armagnac, concerning whom see Gall. Christ, i. 993.
384 CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND. [A.D. 1277.
Durevilla, a monk of the same monastery, a native of
Normandy.
In this year, on the third of the ides of January [llth Jan.], at
the hour of vespers, king Edward, for the first time after his return
from the Holy Land, with Elenor his queen, arrived at the castle
at Winchester ; and on the following day, for the purpose of prayer,
and to pay due respect to the saints, he visited the monastery of
St. Swithun, where he was received, in solemn procession, by the
bishop of the place and by the convent. And after he had spent
several days there, on account of his parliament, Gaston de Biern
arrived, conducted thither by lord Roger de Clifford, on the twelfth
of the kalends of February [21st Jan.], who, presenting himself, by
order of the king of France, before lord Edward the king, and
submitting himself to the royal clemency for all the faults which
he was said to have committed against our lord the king, was
detained in the said castle as a prisoner, but still in honourable
custody; and afterwards (that is on the first of May), was brought, by
the king's orders, to London, and there set free, in full parliament, in
form following: — That he must present himself at the court of the
king of France, and there receive that recompence for his deserts
which the same king shall think proper to appoint.
A.D. 1277- On the fourth of the ides of January [10th Jan.],
on the second day of the moon's age, a thunder clap was first heard
at Winchester, at midnight, which was followed by torrents of rain,
although the day had been fair. During the months of February
and March, too, there was an uninterrupted fall of rain.
THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE BISHOPS
OF WINCHESTER.1
A. D.
635. Birin.
Egilbert.
666. Wine.
a>-a fEleutherius.
676' \Hedda.
705. Daniel.
744. Hunfrid.
754. Kyneward.
786. Athelard.
Argerbard.
Duod.
Kinebriht
Edmund.
Uuthgen.
Herefrid.
Eadhun.
Hestan.
837. Swithun.
Ealferd.
Tumbert.
879. Denewulf.
910. Fridestan.
931. Brinstan.
934. Alfeg.
951. Alfsi.2
958. Brithelm.
A.D.
963. Athelwold.
Alfeg.
fKenelf.
' \Athelwold.
1100.
1128.
1174.
1262.
1268.
1282.
Alwin.
1047. Stigand.
Walkelin.
William Giffard.
Henry.
Richard.
Godefrid.
1205. Peter.
1239. William.
1241. Aymer, bishop elect.
John Gervase.
Nicolas of Worcester.
John.
1305. Henry.4
1316. John."
1319. Rigaud.
1323. John.
1324. Adam.
William.5
William.
1 From the Cottonian MS. Vesp. A. xvi. fol. 13b.
2 Aluric MS. Harl. 1761, fol. 75b.
3 " Elsi, the chaplain of king Charles, and afterwards archbishop of Canterbury,"
MS Harl. 1761.
4 At this point the original hand ends, and the succeeding entries have been
added from time to time.
5 This and the following date are doubtful in the MS.
VOL. IV.
c c
[A.D. 1070—
THE SUCCESSION OF THE BISHOPS OF THE
CHURCH OF WINCHESTER.1
A.D. 1070. Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, and bishop of
Winchester, having been deservedly deposed, and more deservedly
still imprisoned at Winchester, Walkeline, a Norman, was con
secrated bishop. He sat for twenty-nine years, and was buried at
Winchester.
A.D. 1100. William Giffard sat eighteen years, and was buried
at Winchester.
A.D. 1118. Henry of Blois sat forty-two years, and was buried
at Winchester.
A.D. 1173. Henry Toclyv, archdeacon of Poictiers, sat fifteen
years, and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1188. Geoffrey de Lucy sat fifteen years, and was buried at
Winchester.
A.D. 1205. Peter de Rupibus, consecrated at Rome, sat thirty-
four years, and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1240. William Rale, bishop of Norwich, was approved by
the pope, A.D. 1244, sat ten years, and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1255. Audomare de Lezignafn] was elected, and was con
secrated by the pope. He died at Paris, A.D. 1259. The see was
vacant for more than two years.
A.D. 1262. John Gervase sat for six years, and died at the court
of Rome.
A.D. 1269. Nicolas de Eli, bishop of Worcester, sat for twelve
years, and was buried in the monastery of Waverly.
A.D. 1281. John de Pontissara2 sat for twenty-four years, and
was buried at Winchester.
A. D. 1305. Henry3 Wodlok sat for thirteen years, and was buried
at Winchester.
A.D. 1329. John Sandal* sat four years.
1 From the Cottonian MS. Titus C. xii. fol. 194, of the sixteenth century.
2 The following entries are extracted from the Harleian MS. 1761, fol. 76, of the
fifteenth century. " John de Pontissara was archdeacon of Exeter, and was con
secrated at Viterbo, by the bishop of Ostia, A.D. 1282, and died A.D. 1303 [1304].
on the vigil of St. Nicolas [5th Dec.]."
3 " Friar Henry Wodeloke, prior of Winchester, was elected and confirmed, A. D.
1304; and on Sunday the third of the kalends of June [30th May], on the feast
of St. Felix the pope, A.D. 1305, he was consecrated at Canterbury by archbishop
Kobert ; and he died at Farnham on the vigil of the Apostles Peter and Paul
[28th June], 1316."
4 "John de Baudake [sic], clerk of the king of England, was consecrated at
Canterbury by archbishop Walter, A.D. 1316; and on the feast of the Com
memoration of All Souls [2d Nov.], A.D. 1319, he died at Southwark."
A.D. 1531.] SUCCESSION OF THE BISHOPS OF WINCHESTER. 387
A.D. 1334. Reginald de Asserio1 sat three years.
A.D. 1337. John Stratford2 sat ten years, and was translated to
the church of Canterbury.
A.D. 1335. Adam Orleton3 sat for twelve years.
A.D. 1361. William Edington sat for twenty years, and was
buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1367. William Wikam sat for thirty-seven years, and was
buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1404. Henry Beauford sat forty-three years, and died on
the 2d of April, A.D. 1447.
A.D. 1447. William Wainflet sat forty years, and was buried at
Winchester.
A.D. 1487. Peter Courteney, bishop of Exeter, sat six years,
and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1493. Thomas Langton, bishop of Salisbury, sat eight
years, and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1501. Richard Fox, first bishop of Exeter, then bishop of
Durham, sat twenty-seven years, and was buried at Winchester.
A.D. 1528. Thomas Wolsey sat one year and a half; he died at
Leicester, and was buried in the monastery of Pratum Floridum.4
A.D. 1531. Stephen Gardiner, the secretary of king Henry VIII.
1 "Rigaud de Asserio, the pope's nuncio in England, was provided in the
bishopric of Winchester by pope John XXII., A.D. 1320 ; and he was consecrated
at St. Albans by the archbishop of Canterbury on the Sunday, being the feast of
St. Edmund the Archbishop [16th Nov.], in the same year; and he died at
Avignon on the llth of March, 1323."
-2 " John de Stratford, archdeacon of Lincoln, was consecrated at Avignon on
Sunday, being the feast of St. John and St. Paul [26th June], A.D. 1323, by provi
sion of pope John XXII. And on the 26th of November, A.D. 1333, in the
eleventh of his consecration, the same pope John XXII. absolved this same John
from the oath of his profession, by which he was bound to the same church,
and made him archbishop of Canterbury, with the implied consent of all the
cardinals."
3 " Adam, bishop of Worcester (who had formerly been bishop of Hereford), was
translated by pope John the XXII. from the church of Worcester to that of
Winchester, 1st December, A.D. 1333."
4 That is, of Leicester; see Dugd. Monast. ii. 308.
c c 2
[A.D. 596 —
CHRONICLE OF WINCHESTER.
A.D.
596. Pope Gregory sent Au
gustine to the Angles.
597. At this time the monas
tery of St. Benedict1
was destroyed by the
Longobards. After St.
Benedict came Con-
stantine, then Simpli-
cius, Vitalis, and Boni-
tus, in whose time the
destruction occurred.
599. Phocas succeeded Mau
rice. East Saxony re
ceived the faith of
Christ from bishop
Mellitus.
606. St. Gregory, the pope,
died.
607. Simmachus was pope.
608. Boniface was pope.
611. At this time St. Colum-
banus flourished.
612. Heraclius was emperor.
615. Deusdedit was pope.
619. The death of St. Laurence
the bishop.
620. St. Romanus flourished.
624. The death of archbishop
Mellitus.
625. Paulinus is ordained arch
bishop.
627. King Eadwin is baptized
by St. Paulinus.
632. King Oswald is baptized.
633. In this year king Edwin
was killed.
634. In this year Birin preached
the faith of Christ.
635. St. Audoenus was or
dained bishop.
A. D.
636. St. Severinus, the bishop,
died.
637. Eadbald, king of Kent,
died.
639. Theodore was pope.
644. St. Paulinus, the arch
bishop, died.
645. Martin was pope.
650. Bishop Birin died.
651. Bishop Aidan died.
653. Bishop Honorius died.
656. Vitalian was pope.
658. St. Wandregilus was ab
bot.
664. Archenbricht was king of
Kent.
668. There was a severe pesti
lence.
669. St. Deusdedit, the arch
bishop, died.
673. St. Etheldritha founded
the monastery of Elige.
675. Agatho was pope.
676. Hedda was made bishop.
679. Queen Etheldritha died.
682. Leo was pope.
690. The death of archbishop
Theodore.
69 1 . The death of pope Conon.
692. Sergius was pope.
694. Justinian was succeeded
by Leo.
695. Liberius succeeded Leo,
Clodevius succeeded
Theodoric, the king of
the Franks.
700. ChildebertsucceededClo
devius.
701. John was pope.
703. Bishop Hedda died.
1 That ^of Monte Cassino, the chief house of the order. See Mabill. Annal.
A.D. 925.]
CHRONICLE OF WINCHESTER.
389
Justinian succeeded Li-
berius.
Wilfrid, the bishop, died ;
as also St. Aldhelm the
bishop.
Sisinnius the pope.
Constantinus the pope.
St. Wilfran.
The death of St. Guthlac.
The death of king Dago-
bert.
Pope Gregory.
.... St. John.
On the death of Leo,
Constantine succeeds.
St. Egbriht dies.
Beda dies.
Pope Gregory.
Pope Zachary.
Bishop Daniel dies.
Cuthrad dies, and Sigebert
reigns.
1 Offa reigns.
Pope Paul dies.
KingCarlemann dies, and
Constantine is pope.
The beginning of the reign
of king Charles the
Great.
Pope Adrian.
The Romans pluck out
pope Leo's eyes, and cut
off his tongue.
Pope Leo comes into
France.
The emperor Charles the
Great dies ; pope Leo
dies.
Pope Stephen dies.
Having slain Norman, the
emperor Louis marches
into Britany.
Pope Valentine died.
The emperor Louis died ;
his son Lotharius reigned
fifteen years.
Pope Sergius.
In this year the Normans
entered into the Seine.
A. D.
854. The emperor Lotharius
died.
859. Pope Benedict. In this
year it began to freeze
on the second of the
kalends of December
[30th Nov.], and it
ended on the nones of
April [5th April].
862. St. Wurthus, the bishop,
died.
864. St. Nicolas, the pope,
died.
866. King Ethelbert died.
869. Adrian was pope.
870. S. Eadmund was crowned
with martyrdom.
874. John was pope.
875. On the fifteenth of the
kalends of December
[17th Nov.], in this
year, Hollo and his fol
lowers penetrated into
Normandy.
880. Charles the younger
entered Italy.
889. Adrian was pope.
891. Basil was pope.
892. Stephen was pope.
893. The arrival of Hengist
into Britain.
896. Formosus was pope.
900. Boniface was pope.
901. Stephen was pope.
903. The death of the holy
priest Grimbald.
904. John was pope.
906. Pope Benedict died.
908. Leo was pope.
909. Sergius was pope.
913. In this year Rollo married
his wife Popa, of whom
was born William.
917. Rollo, the first duke of
Normandy, died, and
was succeeded by his
son William.
921. Conrad died.
925. King Edward died, and
The date is here somewhat obscure.
390
CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
[A.D.932—
A. D. A. D,
his son Ethelstan sue- 1005
ceeded to the throne. 1006
932. Bishop Brinstan was or
dained. 1011,
933. Stephen was pope.
941. King Ethelstan died, and 1012,
his brother Edmund suc
ceeded to the kingdom. 1015.
942. Stephen was pope.
949. Agapetus was pope. 1017.
955. King Eadred died.
958. King Eadwig died, and 1018.
his third brother Eadgar
tooktherealm of Britain. 1022.
962. William, duke of the 1023.
Normans, the son of 1025.
Hollo, died, and was 1026.
succeeded by his son
William Longsword.
964. Now they were expelled
from the old monastery.
965. Now they were expelled
from the new.
966. Now king Eadgar gave a
charter of privileges,
which was entirely
[written in letters] of 1031.
gold.
975. Here appeared a comet,
and king Eadgar died. 1035.
976. Here there was a great
famine in England.
978. Now king Eadward was
slain, and his brother 1040.
Ethelred reigned in his 1042.
stead. 1043.
984. St. Ethelwo[l]d, the bi
shop, died. 1047.
988. St. Dunstan, the arch- 1049.
bishop, died. 1050.
989. Archbishop Ethelgar died. 1052.
997. Richard, duke of the 1053.
Normans, died, and 1058.
was succeeded by his 1061.
son Richard. 1062.
1002. The arrival of Imma, and 1063.
the slaughter of the 1066.
Danes on the day of
the feast of St. Brice
[13th Nov.].
Oto died.
In this year St Elieg1 re
ceived his pall.
This year Kent was de
vastated.
Now St. Elfeg, the arch
bishop, was martyred.
This year Cnuth came to
the English.
Duke Eadric and his
companions were slain.
The translation of St.
Elfeg the archbishop.
Benedict was pope.
Bishop Wulstan died.
John was pope.
Richard the second, the
duke of the Normans,
died, and was succeeded
by the third Richard,
who, dying in the same
year, was succeeded by
his brother Rodbert.
Also Cnuth went to
Norhwegon [Norway]
with fifty ships.
Now Cnuth went to
Rome ; and . . . Kent
was renewed.
King Cnuth died ; also
Rodbert, duke of Nor
mandy, and his son
William succeeded him.
King Harold died.
King Hardacnute died.
There was a mortality
among men.
Pope Benedict died.
Clement was pope.
Damasus was pope.
Queen Emma died.
Duke Godwin died.
Victor was pope.
Stephen was pope.
Nicolas was pope.
Alexander was pope.
The death of king Ead
ward. Now a comet
appeared, on the eighth
of the kalends of May
A,D. 1119.]
CHRONICLE OF WINCHESTER.
391
A. D.
[24th April], and the
king of Norway was
killed ; and now king
Harold was slain, and
the Normans arrived in
Britain.
1070. The ordination of bishop
Walchelin.
1072. The death of bishop
Stigand.
1075. Hildebrand was pope.
1076. Now earl Waldeof was
slain.
1080. A severe wind on the
night of Christmas.
1084. Wibert was ordained
pope, and Hildebert was
expelled.
1086. Arfast1 was ordained
bishop.
1089. Archbishop Lanfranc
died.
1093. Malcolm, king of the
Scots, was slain.
1095. The expedition to Jeru
salem.
1097. Tarsus is taken this year.
1099. Pope Urban dies, and is
succeeded by Paschal.
1 1 00. Richard,the son of Robert
the earl of Normandy,
is slain, and king Wil
liam the second is slain,
and his brother Henry
assumes the kingdom.
1108. Gundulf, bishop of Ro
chester, dies, and in his
stead Ralph is conse
crated bishop.
1109. Archbishop Anselm dies.
1113. The city of Worcester
was now burnt down ;
and monks, and laymen,
and women, were burnt
within it.
1114. A comet continued visible
from the second of the
kalends of June [31st
May], until the Nativity
A. D.
of St. John the Baptist
[24th June]. Two
archbishops were made,
those of Canterbury
and York. The Thames
was dried up at London.
1115. On the sixth of the kalends
of February [27th Jan.],
being Wednesday, about
the first hour of the day,
two rings appeared
round the moon, one
near it, the other at a
greater distance. With
in the inner circle, and
on two parts of the sun
a bright part was visible,
as if there had been two
suns, somewhat less
bright than the larger
sun ; and on the top of
each of these two nar
rower ones appeared
two imperfect circles,
in the shape of a ship
towards the eastern
corner, opposite to the
winter solstice.
1116. Now king Henry caused
his barons to promise
England by oath to his
son William as his heir.
1117- This year there appeared
a moon entirely like
blood, on the night of
the sixteenth of the
kalends of July [16th
June] . Pope Paschal
died, and the third king
Baldwin, and queen
Matilda.
1118. The good queen Matilda,
the wife of Henry, king
of England, died this
year.
1119. Herbert, bishop of Nor
wich, died, and also
Richard, abbot of S.
Albans.
If reference is here made to Arfast, bishop of Thetford, the chronology is faulty.
392
CHURCH HISTORIANS OF ENGLAND.
[A. D. 1120—
A.D.
1120. On the seventh of the
kalends of December
[25th Nov.], Henry,
king of England, cross
ing over fromNormandy
into England, with a
great fleet, lost very
many of the chief per
sonages of his king
dom, of both sexes, to
gether with his daughter
and his niece and his
two sons, the ship being
driven by the sailors
upon a rock near the
entrance of Barbefleet.
These were William, his
son and heir, and Rich
ard, earl of Chester.
1122. Archbishop Ralph died.
1123. Ernulf, bishop of Roches
ter, died.
1126. King Henry commanded
his subjects to pledge by
oath the kingdom of
England to his heiress
and daughter the em
press Matilda.
1129. King Henry gave the
bishopric of Winches
ter to his nephew, the
great Henry.
1133. An eclipse took place on
the fourth of the nones
of August [2d August]
this year, and many
stars were visible about
the sun; and this same
year died Robert, earl
of Normandy, and was
buried at Gloucester.
And on this same year
and day the noble king
of the English, Henry,
crossed the sea, never
afterwards to return
hither alive ; an event
of which the sun gave
intimation from heaven
by withdrawing its light.
A. D.
1135. Henry, king of England,
died, on the fourth of
the nones of December
[2d Dec.], at St. Denis,
a place in Normandy .
. . . and after this his
body was conveyed to
Reading, in England,
and there buried. His
nephew Stephen, earl
of Boulogne, succeeded
him in the kingdom ;
and he was consecrated
as king at Westminster,
on the eleventh of the
kalends of January
[22d Dec.], in the same
year.
1136. Matilda, the wife of king
Stephen, was crowned
queen of England, at
Westminster, onEaster-
day, being the eleventh
of the kalends of April
[22d March], and in
the same year.
1 137. In this year, on the third
of the nones of June
[3d June], the church
of Rochester was burnt
down, and the whole
city, together with all
the offices belonging to
the bishop and the
monks. On the day
after, at York, there,
was consumed the
church of the blessed
Peter, which is the see
of the archbishop ; also,
outside the walls, the
church of the blessed
Mary, which is an abbey
church, together with a
beautiful hospital,which
had been founded by the
venerable archbishop
Turstin. In this same
year died John, bishop
of Rochester, on the
A.D. 1140.]
A. D.
CHRONICLE OF WINCHESTER.
393
twelfth of the kalends
of July [20th June].
1138. In this year Theobald was
ordained archbishop.
1139. In this year the daughter
of king Henry, who had
been empress, came into
England, along with her
brother Robert, earl of
Gloucester, at the head
of a large body of men.
1 1.40. This year a severe battle
was fought on the fourth
of the nones of February
[2d Feb.], between king
Stephen and Robert,
earl of Gloucester, not
far from the city of
Lincoln; and it so hap
pened, by the result of
a sad accident, that the
king and some of the
nobles of his realm were
captured, many others
of his troops were slain ;
also many other persons
fell in the battle.
VOL. IV.
D D
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